


Take it to the limit

by Littlemistake



Series: Ben and Rey's Detective Agency [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben needs to be arrested for crimes against Rey's underwear, Boss/Employee Relationship, But don't tell Leia that Ben and Rey have the hots for each other, Desk Sex, F/M, Hidden Relationship, Make up sex, Rey is training to be a spy, Rey knows how to handle a weapon, Secret Lovers, Secret Relationship, Sexual Content, Smut, Sneaking Around, Spies & Secret Agents, They know they shouldn't but they do it anyway sex, Training Day, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:08:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24106465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlemistake/pseuds/Littlemistake
Summary: Rey just started Resistance Recovery Solutions “spy school”, but is already facing the ultimate challenge. Can she keep her relationship with her instructor Ben Solo a secret from her competition.... and his mother?
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Ben and Rey's Detective Agency [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659721
Comments: 199
Kudos: 241
Collections: The Thirst Order - TWD House Swolo





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is Part II of my Ben and Rey’s Detective Agency series. You don’t have to read Part 1 [Whatever It Takes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21804115/chapters/52029922) to understand this story. But that one is a rollicking romp too.

Rey slid her panties up her thighs, lifting herself up off the back seat of Ben’s car to pull them over her backside. She smoothed down her denim skirt and adjusted her t-shirt. If she had known she would be clambering all over the car’s interior, she would not have chosen a white top for the journey. 

“You know, it's lucky you allowed extra time,” she giggled as she watched him tuck himself back into his pants. Ben had insisted on taking her from her home into Piccadilly Station - but it seemed the journey was taking longer than expected with the carnal pit stops they were making along the way. 

Ben snorted. “Luck has nothing to do with it. Meticulous planning was needed to ensure maximum fuckage before we take our vow of celibacy. This has to be the last one; the roads get more populated from here - less out of the way spots for me to do what I want to you.”

Rey grinned impishly. “Like an audience ever stopped you before - I can recall the lounge at Highton House, the alley off main street….on the beach after dark.”

Their introduction had been an unusual one. Ben had lodged at the hotel where Rey worked, and had made her an offer she couldn’t refuse - pretend to be his girlfriend to throw a rival off the trail of a very valuable necklace. In return, he would give her the money needed to save the hotel from financial ruin. It had been impossible to stop herself from falling head over heels for him. Luckily, he had returned her feelings; once his mission was over and the necklace returned to its rightful owner, they had explored their passion with great enthusiasm. 

The side of his mouth pulled in a smirk. “In my defence the first two were merely kisses - although the beach was decidedly a home run.”

She snorted. “As if your kisses are merely kisses, Ben Solo. They are anything but.” She sighed softly. “I don’t know how I’m going to live without them.”

He squeezed her thigh affectionately.

“Four weeks. You will be so exhausted you won’t have the chance to think of taking advantage of your instructor.”

Rey wasn’t sure - as far as she was concerned she would need to be in a coma before she would not want to ravage him. The last eight weeks had shown her that. He squeezed her tighter and nuzzled her cheek.

“I feel it too, Rey. It’s going to kill me not to touch you, to have to hide how I feel about you. But it’s for the best. Then, when you make the cut, we won’t need to hide anymore. People will see how amazing you are.”

He shifted his body so he could look at her, his expression serious. “Training will be brutal. I should know - because I designed it. You have some very tough competition.”

She knew he was right. She needed all her focus on beating her competition - not on him. 

“Then I’m glad Maz is keeping my job at the hotel open for me,” she laughed nervously. 

“You can always go back,” he nodded. “But I don’t think you will need it.” he grinned.

She wished she shared his confidence in her.

They both clambered into the front of the car and continued the journey in silence for a time. Rey felt a mix of excitement, fear and dread as they sped down the highway. Excitement that she had made it into the final recruiting round to become a reacquisitions specialist. Fear that she wasn’t good enough to make the grade, and dread of being so close for him for the next month, yet also so far.

Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers along the edge of her seat.

“Tough competition… wonder who I am up against?” She said quietly to herself - not realising she had spoken aloud.

He snapped his neck to look at her, doing a double take before shaking his head. 

“Rey, honey. I know you’re scared, but you have to do this without my help. You have to make it on your own . Not because your boyfriend is on the selection panel. Plus… if the big bosses found out I was helping you unfairly, I would be sent straight back to New York. No doubt about it.”

She chided herself for speaking it aloud; of course he shouldn’t share intelligence with her. Not only would it cost them both their futures at Resistance Recovery Solutions, but it would also end their relationship. But she was more than a little offended that he had immediately assumed she was trying to cheat.

At the same time, the rebuke was bittersweet; he’d said he was her boyfriend. They hadn’t talked about exclusivity - although she had desperately hoped that they were. But now that he had said it, she couldn’t quite believe her ears.

“Boyfriend?” she stammered.

She saw his hands tighten on the wheel, and an inscrutable look flash across his face. 

“I mean, yeah. Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

Her voice tightened in her throat. The words she had been longing to say for the past few weeks hovered on the tip of her tongue. But just because she was his girlfriend didn’t mean the depth of his feelings ran the same. She was terrified of scaring him away, or appearing overly invested.

So, instead she tried to appear nonchalant about the whole couple thing.

“Sure, I guess so.” she shrugged, before her tone became more defensive. “And I’m not asking for special help.”

He rolled his lips, and appeared to be about to say something, but thought the better of it. 

The awkward silence continued on until they pulled into the drop off zone at Piccadilly Station, and she wondered how they had suddenly gone from hot and heavy to painfully uncomfortable. Up until this point their time together had been idyllic. Just the two of them, a bed, snacks and snuggles on the sofa. She had spent nights at his sumptuous townhouse in London - Ben had a particular fondness for showering with her in his luxurious double shower, and she never minded.

Now it seemed that the protective bubble had popped.

Ben roughly yanked the parking brake and got out of the car without a word, helping to collect her bag from the trunk.

“Thanks,” she said quietly as she slung her duffle bag over her shoulder.

“No problem,” he shrugged. Rey thought at that moment they must look more like acquaintances than two people who turned a three hour journey into five because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

“Well, see you later this evening. Connix will collect you from the station once you reach Cambridge, along with the other recruits.”

Rey bit her lip. Connix was the only person close enough to Ben to suspect that they were in a relationship. She had certainly witnessed the chemistry between them during the mission to reclaim the Ashanti necklace - although Ben had taken great pains to give the impression that once the job was over, any further interaction was strictly business.

It seemed whichever way she and Ben were, they needed to pretend. She sighed.

“It will be okay,” he said, sensing her unease. “Even if she works out… what we are, she will come to me first. I know she doesn’t mind causing trouble - like she did with the hickey clause in our contract. But I do trust her; we have worked too long as partners.”

She had no choice but to believe him; in the short time they had been together he had shown her that his instincts were always good. They had to be in his line of work.

“Safe journey,” he huffed. Then he screwed up his face as if he was about to say something difficult, or something that would upset her. “Rey… I…” he sighed heavily, continuing on in resignation. “You will do great.”

A rueful smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. 

“Thanks for the lift,” she said. She didn’t want to leave without a proper goodbye kiss, but it seemed like it was not something he wanted - or that he was afraid that someone might see them. Instead, she stuck out her hand awkwardly. He stared at it intently before his eyes lifted back to her face.

He clasped her hand for a brief second, his palm warm and strong. She knew those hands, how they felt on her body as he explored intimate places, as they stroked her arm or cupped her cheek. 

“Bye Rey.” 

He dropped her hand as silence fell between them. She felt like she should say something to clear the tension, but she didn’t want to appear any more defensive or hurt than she already was. The sharp honk from a driver wanting to use the parking bay broke their moment. She muttered goodbye and headed into the station.

She could feel his eyes boring into her as she walked away.

_________

As the train headed north, the busy London metropolis gave way to rolling hills and countryside. She sighed as the landscape became more like that of home. But the way things had been left with Ben was weighing on her mind. 

She wanted to make it better, to clear the air. It had never occurred to her that he might have his own anxieties about proving himself. She looked down at her phone, and realised with a sinking feeling that she had both low reception and low battery. Her phone was nearing the end of its useful life and was forever losing charge. 

She felt the impulse take over to share how she truly felt. To tell him that she was sorry, and to confess the depth of her feelings. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but at the same time it felt like too strong a declaration to confess over text. She composed her message and shot it off before she could lose her nerve - and before her battery went dead. 

_ I’m sorry I made you think I wanted an unfair advantage. I know this opportunity means everything to the both of us. You have made me the happiest I have ever been. You are my world. _

She took a deep breath before hitting send, then switched her phone off and put it back in her bag. She knew she would compulsively check for a response if she didn’t keep it out of sight, plus she might need it in an emergency - or if something went wrong on her journey. 

Spying the navy and gold embossed recruitment packet in her bag, she decided it was time to review the contents.

Again.

She chewed at the side of her mouth as she skimmed through her training contract (with a disappointing lack of fake boyfriend clause) before moving on to the training program.

_ Resistance Recovery Solutions is America’s premier recovery service, reuniting our elite clients with their property, possessions, pets and people. It now enters a new chapter in global domination, entry into the English and European markets. Only the best of the best will be offered a highly coveted position as a Recovery Specialist. _

_ The next few weeks will be the most intense and gruelling of your life. You have already outshone hundreds of other applicants to make it to the final training round. _

_ Now the hard work begins.  _

Rey gulped nervously; the last four weeks had been hard enough passing the written and verbal tests, as well as surviving the personality assessment. There was also something very unfair about Ben knowing so much about her, when she knew so little about him. Well, she knew his body and face intimately; they were on equal terms there.

There were four concentrations she would need to master: Physical Training, Intelligence, Operational Training, and Firearms and Weaponry. The final task was the obstacle course and interviews.

She groaned inwardly at the first subject. Ben had been putting her through her paces in preparation for the physical training, and while she was certainly improving in leaps and bounds, a life of bed changing and pillow fluffing did not lead to peak physical condition. 

The train ground to a halt with a sharp jerk, and looking up she realised she had arrived at her destination. Shoving the packet into her bag, she bolted from the carriage just before the automatic doors closed. Unfortunately in her haste, she collided with another passenger who was also alighting. 

“Hey!” the person called out in surprise as Rey crashed into their suitcase.

“Oof,” Rey grunted before collapsing on top of the unfortunate traveller.

Sprawled on the platform the pair quickly became a tangle of limbs and luggage. 

“Watch it klutz!” said the young woman. She looked slightly older than Rey, with long brown hair scraped off her face in a high ponytail.

“I’m dreadfully sorry,” said Rey apologetically, her face burning with embarrassment. 

The woman glared back. “You just ruined my heels.” Suddenly a foot was waved under her nose. “They are  _ Dior _ ..” Rey felt herself get the once over, including her duffle bag. Apparently, she didn't pass the style test, because her accuser narrowed her eyes and sniggered before continuing. “That’s a very,  _ very _ expensive brand. They cost a lot of money”, she said slowly, as if talking to an imbecile.

Rey looked at the shoes, indeed they did look costly and very high. She wasn’t sure about them being ruined; they looked perfectly fine to her. She gathered and picked herself off the ground. She then offered her hand to help the other woman, but it was sniffed away.

Rey picked up her bag, deciding the best course of action was to beat a hasty retreat and find Connix as soon as she could. The quicker she could get away, the sooner she could put her embarrassment behind her.

She sighed in relief when she looked around to see Connix walking towards her. She was shorter than Rey had expected, but she supposed it was difficult to tell height from video conferencing. Unless it was Ben - he, of course, filled the screen.

“Nice to finally meet you in person, Rey.” Connix smiled and stuck out her hand, which Rey gratefully accepted. The lithe brunette whipped her head sharply to stare at her, narrowly missing lashing Connix across her legs with her ponytail.

The gods were not smiling on Rey that day. To her dismay, Connix turned to the other woman and offered her a steadying hand to help her up.

“You must be Bazine Netal,” Connix said, “I’m Connix, Kaydel Connix. I work with Ben Solo.”

Bazine’s sour expression was immediately replaced with a saccharine sweet one as she rose to her feet. “Pleasure to meet you,” she said brightly. “Ben seems wonderful, so charming and knowledgeable. I’ve been following the rise of Resistance Recovery Solutions for some time, and Ben seems to be the reason.”

Jealousy twisted like a knife to Rey’s stomach. Bazine was so beautiful, with long dark hair and a body just poured into her catsuit. How could she expect to hold Ben’s attention when women far more stylish and poised than her were in contention?

_ Seriously, who wears a catsuit to training?  _

Connix smirked at the suggestion before addressing the both of them. “He’d like to think so. I guess you two have met already,” she chuckled. “Let’s get going, you two are the last to arrive.”

Bazine’s smile left her face as soon as Connix’s back was turned.

_________________

Rey studied the brochure for the training complex on the car journey. It was a daunting, huge modern facility with a central training area flanked by two accommodation wings - private rooms at each end with dormitory style bedding in between. With a sinking feeling, she realised that she wouldn’t have a private room. She supposed Ben would, though. Her mind flashed to sneaking into his bed late at night, making love to him, exploring each other, whispering sweet nothings.

She shook the images from her mind, but she couldn’t shake the longing in her heart.

Bazine and Connix chatted in an animated fashion as the countryside flew by.

"Of course, my father, may he rest in peace, was in the… civil service. So really, I suppose espionage is in the blood,” said Bazine. “So when the chance to join Resistance came up, well, you can imagine I have been preparing for this role my whole life.” 

“I saw that in your file,” Connix nodded. “Five or Six?”

“Six,” Bazine sniffed with an air of disdain. Rey felt even smaller than she already did - it sounded like Bazine already came from a spy family. She turned to look at Rey in the backseat. “How about you Rey? What did you do before this?”

Rey shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Hospitality,” she squirmed, before reminding herself she had nothing to be ashamed of. “I worked at a hotel.”

“Oh, like management?” Bazine asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No… more like housekeeping, reception…that kind of thing.”

Bazine squinted her eyes. “So how does someone go from changing bed linen to making the final recruitment round?”

“Just luck, I guess,” Rey muttered. She felt like she had already shared too much. Bazine didn’t need to know anything more about her.

Bazine pursed her lips and sneered, and Rey noted she kept her face shielded from Connix. Rey couldn’t help but wriggle her eyebrows in response to her rival’s expression.

“Let’s see if your luck runs out, shall we?” Bazine quipped.

“Yeah, let’s see,” Rey responded with false bravado.

They drove through a pair of large automatic gates that swung shut behind them. Rey took a deep breath and steeled herself for what was to come, but she wasn’t sure which challenge weighed on her more heavily.

Making it through to the final two, or mending her relationship with Ben?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out there are two obstacles Rey needs to overcome. Only one of them is actually part of the syllabus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to spacie_gracie and MyJediLife for the beta.

Connix brought them to their bunks the moment they arrived. Rey spied luggage on three other beds, so she assumed that there were five recruits in all. Bazine chose a bunk as far away from the others as she could. Rey sighed to herself; she didn’t like getting off on the wrong foot so fast. Even if it was with someone who was her competition, and who seemed entirely two faced. 

She took a sharp intake of breath as she remembered her text earlier that afternoon. As she quickly unzipped her duffle bag, she fished out her phone and charger. Switching it on, she waited for a response from Ben to come through. But her phone remained silent in her hand.

Her heart sank to the bottom of her shoes. Was he angry with her? Or had he decided to wash his hands of her altogether? It was like a kick to her chest, and she felt tears prick in her eyes. She wished she could take the message back. How was she going to face him now?

“Come on,” urged Connix. “Plus, I’ll take that. No tech during training. You will get it back at the end. Or sooner, if you can’t handle the pace.” she shrugged. Reluctantly, Rey handed her phone over; she supposed she wouldn’t need it anyway. It wasn’t like she had anyone to contact.

Bazine’s hand wavered as she held her much fancier cell. “This wasn’t mentioned in the information packet. I  _ need  _ my phone.” Rey didn’t miss the whine in her voice.

“No phone, or no training,” Connix said simply. “They will be kept in the office under strict surveillance.”

Bazine scowled as she begrudgingly handed it over.

The two women followed Connix through the dormitory in silence, and out into the large, open training space. Rey’s eyes flew immediately to Ben, who was deep in conversation with a very tall, older gentleman at the front of a row of chairs - three of which had occupants. Her heart skipped a beat as always; it could never not flutter in her chest each time she saw him. But now there was an ache, tinged with sadness and regret. 

He glanced in her direction, and she immediately looked away before he could catch her eye. She couldn’t show how hurt she was that he didn’t respond to her message.

Spying a free seat, she made her way over and sat down. She looked around at the other recruits. They all seemed about the same age as her, and were dressed practically - none were as flashy as Bazine, she noted with relief. 

By this time, Ben and the older gentleman had finished their conversation and made their way to the front of the seating area. The other man cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

He looked down at the clipboard in his hand.

“Jyn Erso?”

The brunette raised her hand. She seemed so self assured.

“Your father was a highly ranked officer in the military, I see. But from your records it seems you are more the lone wolf type.”

Jyn’s face remained passive as she replied. 

“I tread my own path.”

“So it seems.” The man holding the clipboard flipped to the next page.

“Cassian Andor?”

“Here,” said the man sitting next to her. He was swarthy and confident, while also more laissez-faire, with his elbow casually resting on the back of his chair. The man squinted his eyes and snorted at Cassian’s demeanour.

“An intelligence specialist, I see,” the man mused. “Let’s see how clever you are in my class.” Cassian smirked, unperturbed by the jibe. “Bazine Netal?”

“So honored to be here, following in the footsteps of my father,” she sang out.

Rey rolled her eyes. Ben caught her look, and his mouth tugged into a small grin, and she couldn’t help but smile in return. It helped her to feel a little better.

“Let’s see how honored you feel after Solo puts you through your paces on the obstacle course of broken dreams. Temmin Wexley?”

“Here, and I prefer Snap, Ackbar, Sir,” said the stocky man sitting next to her. 

Ackbar smiled. “As you wish. I see Wedge Antillies was your mentor. You come highly recommended. Good man, that Antillies.” he nodded.

“The best, Ackbar, Sir.”

Rey looked at Snap - military background, she presumed. She felt a nervous twinge; everyone seemed so experienced already.

“Rey Niima?”

“Here, sir,” she croaked.

Ackbar scanned through her dossier, his face screwing in confusion.

“Not much to look at here… though your test scores were amongst the highest of the group.”

She wanted equal parts to hide under her chair at her lack of pedigree, but also to puff out her chest at her test results. Understandably, Ben had never shared them with her.

No favours, she reminded herself. 

“Oh, she has a doctorate in toilet scrubbing.” Bazine added in the same sing-song voice. The two men snickered, while Jyn narrowed her eyes. Rey was lost for words; this woman was as mean as a rattlesnake, and had a particular skill for exploiting insecurities. 

“She still kicked your ass in the cognitive testing,” snapped Ben. The group gasped, and Rey found that not only did the cat have her tongue, but that it had caught the first plane to Melbourne, Australia.

Bazine’s face fell. “I didn’t mean…”

“I’m sure you did,” replied Ben coolly. “This is important for all of you - so listen up. While the five of you are competing against each other, supporting your colleagues out in the field is an essential component of the job. If you’re an ass in here, then you will be an ass out there. I won’t put up with that shit. It’s not good for business.”

Bazine was rendered speechless, slowly turning to stare at Rey with a sour, but incredulous, expression. Rey tried to remain as passive as possible, as if his charging in to rescue her from a barbed tongue hadn’t sent her stomach somersaulting and her heart pounding.

Ackbar continued with the rest of the induction, explaining what the next few weeks would look like. Rey listened intently; although she had devoured her training packet, there was still much she wanted to know.

She gulped at the Physical Training requirements - she’d just barely scraped through the fitness test, but knew she would have to do better if she was to keep her score high. She hadn’t seen the obstacle course yet, but she assumed by the “of broken dreams” tag that it was no cake walk. It was to be the final test before their interview with the two Resistance Directors.

She shuddered at the thought of the interview. She had been unable to find out any intel on Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa; she wondered what they were like. Scary, she supposed.

Intelligence Gathering didn’t bother her, in fact, it was the topic she was most comfortable with. Intelligence, counter intelligence, technical surveillance counter measures - she found herself surprisingly adept at all of it (excepting in due diligence of potential new bosses). 

Operational training was almost as daunting as physical training; she was never really one for hand to hand combat. Plus, well, every time Ben had tried to teach her anything physical - like grappling or body searches - they ended up naked and rolling around on the floor. Her undercover lessons usually ended up under the covers. She wondered if she would regret that.

Probably not.

She was very excited by the thought of firearms and weapons training. She’d never so much as held a gun before Ben had taken her to the shooting range. She had felt a surprising, but immediate affinity with a pistol, the weight of it in her hand, the coolness of the metal as it lay in her palm. She prayed she would never need to use one, but Ben had explained that on some of the more dangerous missions it would be a necessity.

As Ackbar continued, every now and again Rey would flit her eyes across to Ben, but it seemed he was back to pretending she didn’t exist. He worked his jaw as he listened to his colleague. It was a tick of his that he had never quite overcome; it meant he was worried.

She felt an overwhelming urge to comfort him, to ask him what was bothering him so much. Sighing inwardly, she wondered how she was going to manage her feelings while she was here.

“Remember, only two of you will be offered a position with Resistance Recovery Solutions,” Ackbar continued. “Make this time count; you won’t get another opportunity.”

Rey blinked, shaking herself from her musing. She realised she needed to make a choice. She  _ could _ give up now, and admit she didn’t have the fortitude to make it through training. Hopefully she and Ben would be able to patch up their relationship. As much as their earlier disagreement had rankled her, she knew deep inside that his feelings for her ran strong. The way he looked at her, the soft words he cooed against her ear; it didn’t make sense to her that one misunderstanding could undo all of that... Could it? She supposed she could go back to her life at Finley-On-Sea, and live out a respectable existence.

But she didn’t want to give up. She wanted more than anything to be a part of Resistance Recovery Solutions. After wandering aimlessly, going from one unfulfilling job to the next, she realized she didn’t want that anymore. She wanted adventure, challenge and intrigue. And she would rather give up snacks for the rest of her life than to go work for the First Order. So - Resistance it was.

It wouldn’t be easy, but she owed it to herself.

_________________

Rey groaned at the five am start. It was bitterly cold, her feet shuddering as soon as they hit the icy floor. This was going to be her life while she was here, one hour physical training with Ben, breakfast, followed by a full day's study.

She was not the only one struggling with the schedule. Cassian groaned as he shuffled to the bathroom.

“Kill me now,” she heard him mutter.

She heard Bazine laugh from across the other side of the room. Rey looked up to see her fully attired in what looked like very expensive - and very form fitting - exercise gear. Rey was never one to pay too much attention to fashion, going for comfort and function over style. Still, a part of her wished she had something more exciting than her serviceable black leggings and crop top.

“Doesn’t bother me, I’m ready for whatever the day holds,” she sang out smugly. 

Rey wanted to shove the other woman’s expensive trainers down her snarky throat. But she supposed it wouldn’t count towards her final score in a positive way.

Jyn came out of the ladies washroom, slinging her hair into a ponytail. She looked at Bazine, and Rey caught her raising an eyebrow before giving a shrug, as if what she was thinking didn’t matter.

Snap was nowhere to be seen.

Her cheeks stung as she stepped into the brisk morning air. She could see Ben waiting for them, wearing a tight black t-shirt and running shorts. A whistle and stop watch hung around his neck on a lanyard. 

His strong thighs called to her - she knew how they felt with her legs wrapped around them. Or as she ground herself against him as they kissed. His biceps looked good enough to eat - indeed, she sometimes grazed her teeth against them as he buried himself deep inside her. 

She stifled a whine; it was criminal how good he looked. Just yesterday, she would have been able to do something about the lustful urges he elicited in her. But today, he was strictly off limits. 

She reminded herself what was at stake. 

Her missing competitor was already out in the training area, doing push ups while Ben consulted his clipboard. She made her way next to Snap, watching Ben as he flipped the pages over and clipped his pen to the board. He spotted her, his eyes quickly travelling the length of her body, lingering over her exposed torso and waist. He lifted his gaze to stare intently at her face, his eyes dark and searching.

She felt a prickly heat rise within her as a new wave of lust hit her and pooled in her belly. Tearing her eyes away, she felt exposed; as if their connection was open for all to see. She fell to the ground to join Snap in his warm up.

The others had started various stretches by this time, and there were several moments of silence as they limbered up. She started as the sharp sound of a whistle pierced the air. Rey had a feeling that she would grow tired of the sound pretty quickly.

The contingent fell into line, standing to attention. Ben began to pace in front of them as he spoke. 

“Good to see Snap out here getting warmed up early; some of you should take note.” Rey resisted the urge to poke out her tongue; she was quite sure that comment was aimed at her. “By the end of training, you must take the obstacle course in under ten minutes. Peak physical condition and stamina is essential in this line of work, so if you don’t pass this, then no matter how well you impress in the other sections, you won’t make the cut. There’s no room for babies on my team.”

He abruptly stopped his pacing, narrowing his eyes.

“What’s with the look, Wexley?”

“Well, I was wondering sir - what  _ your _ time was?”

Ben snorted.

“Nine minutes and nine seconds. Good luck beating it.” 

Snap and Cassian both whistled in appreciation. Rey wasn’t surprised, she was intimately acquainted with Ben’s stamina and performance.

“That’s very impressive,” Bazine chirped.

“Yes, it is; almost beat the record for the circuit.” Ben smirked before his tone turned serious. “Anyway, this isn’t about me. Drop and give me twenty, then I want two laps around the track before heading to the course.”

The five did as they were told. Rey tried to take in her competition as she counted out her set. Snap was showing off, doing his one handed. Jyn had a determined look on her face, staring straight ahead into nowhere. To her surprise, Cassian and Bazine seemed to struggle with theirs.

She supposed that fancy activewear did not guarantee performance. Just style.

She wobbled as Ben came to stand in front of her, his strong calves filling her vision.

“Niima, worry about your own form,” he barked. “You’re sloppy. I won’t stand for sloppy babies on my team.”

She bristled. She understood he couldn’t really use one of his many pet monikers for her, but she wasn’t prepared for her name to sound so harsh coming from his mouth.

“Yes, sir.” she grunted.

“Once you finish your set, two laps then over the course. Follow the red markers, they will lead the way.”

___________

Fifty minutes later, Rey dragged her sorry behind into the ladies bathroom to take a much needed shower. As the water pierced her skin, she felt a blessed relief as the clammy mud was sloughed away. She fished a stick out from the back of her hair, she realised she must look a fright.

_ Ten minutes, fifty two seconds. _

She consoled herself by the fact it wasn’t the worst time of the group. But only just.

The obstacle course deserved its reputation. Even Jyn, the front runner at ten minutes, fifteen seconds, didn’t make the grade. She was closely followed by Snap, Cassian, Rey and then Bazine at eleven minutes, twenty one seconds. Snap had seemed awfully sure of himself at the starting line, boasting he was sure to break the record, but was far more subdued at the finish. 

Rey couldn’t look Ben in the eye; it was humiliating to be so far behind. 

_W_ _hoever designed that course was one mean son of a biscuit_.

She had found the barbed crawl easy enough. Bazine faltered the moment her face hit the dirt and her expensive training gear snagged, but Rey’s smugness turned sour once she hit the monkey bars. Her arms had burned the moment she began to swing, and she had bellowed in frustration when she fell into the mud pit at the halfway point.

Ben had stood on the sidelines, yelling at her to get her ass into gear. Something about  _ no babies allowed on his missions _ . She had flung him a scathing look, hoping to burn a hole right into the centre of his stupid, beautiful forehead. He was unfazed, and blew his whistle for her to start over.

He was just as unyielding as she struggled over the eight foot wall. It was alright for him, she thought. He was at least ten foot tall compared to her more modest five foot seven. She would have to work on her upper body strength.

For a brief moment she wished she was back fluffing pillows and rolling her eyes at curmudgeonly guests. But then she remembered that Intelligence training was next, and it raised her spirits.

Someone had entered the cubicle next to her. Several minutes later, as Rey blow dried her hair at the mirrors, she saw it had been Jyn.

“Well done today,” Rey smiled as Jyn came to stand next to her.

“Thanks,” Jyn replied with a shrug. “But I’m not there yet.”

“None of us are,” Rey agreed with a rueful shake of her head. “But you are definitely closer than me.”

Jyn met her eyes across the mirror. “You’ll get there. I mean, I’ll still wipe the floor with you, make no mistake. But you’ll make it.”

It occured to Rey that under normal circumstances - she and Jyn could have been friends. She was certainly without the cockiness of the other three. Rey wondered if that was a good thing - to be so convinced of your own talent before being tested. The two men in particular had been most aggrieved to have been beaten to the punch. Bazine had remained silent, but seething.

Speaking of whom, she realised Bazine had not hit the showers yet, which was a surprise given how, well… high maintenance the woman was. Once Rey was finished, she gathered her things and headed to the door. 

It seemed she and Bazine were destined to collide at every given opportunity, the other woman flinging the door inward as if she was in a mad rush, just as Rey reached the other side.

The near miss was unacknowledged as Bazine pushed past.

_ At least I had the grace to apologise. What’s up with her? _

Rey decided to ignore Bazine’s egregious behaviour. She had more important things to focus on. 

The rest of her day had passed uneventfully enough. Cassian was genuinely impressive during the Intelligence session, although Rey found she had a natural affinity for code cracking that thrilled her.

Ackbar had nodded in approval after she completed the practical exercises a close second to Cassian’s time. But as it didn’t count towards her final assessment, she could not afford to become complacent.

“We do the jobs our clients prefer kept under wraps. Bend the rules, don’t break the rules; a jailed specialist is a failed specialist. So, Intelligence is your friend. Find what you need without finding yourself behind bars.” 

Good advice, Rey noted.

“Also, you might think that raw physical strength is the most important attribute an operative can possess. Well, that’s a trap!” The class jolted at his exclamation.”Your cognitive ability and resilience under pressure is what gets you over the line; there will be times where you need to endure long stretches of sleep deprivation and other such comforts. Your final assessment will test your capacity to maintain intense concentration despite fatigue, and sometimes imminent danger. It’s not for the weak of character.”

Rey felt a surge of determination at his words - she wanted to pass that test. This was what she had to hold onto when things felt as if they were too hard. She resolved to train harder, to try the circuit again after class. She would make that ten minute mark if it killed her. She set her jaw and decided she had to take all her emotions and channel them into showing Ben and the Directors just how determined she was. 

Nothing would stand in the way of reaching her objective. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are kudos are fun! If you enjoyed this chapter I would love to hear it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey finally get some alone time and a frisking lesson takes a turn for the thirst.

Rey hit the running trail as soon as intelligence class was over. The canopy of trees shut out the outside world - and with it all her concerns. She passed the red markers as she completed the circuit; she wanted to complete her warm up before attempting the obstacle course again. She was lost in thought, concentrating on the steady crunch of gravel under her feet when another runner fell in beside her.

“Niima.” 

Her heart skipped a beat. There was no mistaking that voice.

“Solo,” she clipped.

“Good to see you out here.”

Casting a sideways glance at him, she said,“Well, you have no time for  _ babies _ \- and I have a time to beat.”

“That you do,” He suddenly grimaced, shaking his head. “Shit, Rey. I meant, it's good to see  _ you _ .”

She ground to a halt, and turned to face him with her hands on her hips.

“Now I'm really confused.”

He skidded to a stop with a bewildered expression on his face.

“Why would you think I’m not happy to see you?” He worried his bottom lip and took a step towards her. “I know we ended on an awkward note; and I get why you didn’t respond to my text. I overreacted in the car.” He sighed heavily. “I just hope you can forgive me.”

It was her turn to look bewildered. “ _ Your _ message? I never got it, Connix took my phone as soon as I got here, and the battery is dead by now. You didn’t respond to mine!”

He blinked slowly. “You sent a message?”

“Yes - on the train. I apologised… and said other things,” she trailed off. She hadn’t meant to reveal so much. She would never make it out of an interrogation room with him with her secrets intact (or her underwear, for that matter).

“Other things?” He cocked an eyebrow.

She paused. She knew it was time to put on her big girl pants and share a little more of how important he was to her. “How much you mean to me. How happy I have been with you.”

He broke into a broad grin. “I may have sent a similar message. Here I was thinking I had offended you irreparably.”

“No, no,” she shook her head emphatically. “I understand how you could get the impression that I was asking for intel. But I wasn’t.” Her tone was firm.

He took another step towards her. 

“Rey, I was so worried. It’s been hell the last few days. To be desperate to talk to you, but not be able to.”

“Well, your attitude towards me in training has been  _ my _ version of hell,” she retorted. She didn’t care for the way he had been barking orders at her.

He stood his ground. “This is how I turn candidates into the operatives I need. It has to be this way - or no way at all.”

She saw his point, but was not quite ready to concede.

“I feel like you are being harder on me than the others - why?” She questioned.

“I don’t care which one of them makes it,” he shook his head. “I just care if you do. But if I am easy on you, well, it will play on your mind. The thought that I gave you a free pass will eat away at you, eroding your confidence. You can't have any doubt that you made it under your own steam.” His voice cracked as he continued. “I’ve seen what happens when operatives lose their nerve. I can’t allow it to happen to you.”

She blinked slowly. 

“So, it's because you care for me that you are riding me so hard?”

He set his jaw and looked at her darkly.

“Of course I fucking care about you. More than anyone. I won’t stop riding you, Niima, until you go all the way with me.”

She sighed with relief, while also wishing he would make good on his declaration to ride her. She could feel herself blushing, then chided herself immediately . He knew her; he had been inside her far more times than she could count. There were no secrets between them. Now there was a deeper closeness, a greater intimacy. 

“I have been completely miserable,” she said throatily. “I was scared that you… that we...”

She couldn’t speak the words.

“I’m not letting you go that easily,” he growled, shaking his head.

She felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame. A hot swell of desire welled within her, almost crowding out all sense and sensibility. She told herself it was only natural that they should let their mouths and bodies seal their new understanding.

She pressed her lips together, and felt herself standing at the edge of a precipice. She knew if she went to him he wouldn’t refuse her. She wanted him so badly, every cell in her body screamed for his touch.

Surely, just one kiss couldn’t do any harm, she told herself. 

Just one kiss to seal their new understanding. That was all. It wouldn’t interfere with what they needed to accomplish here.

She was about to take a final step towards him when she heard footsteps travelling from around the bend. Moments later, Connix came into view. Rey and Ben jumped apart as if they were naughty children caught pilfering sweets.

Connix jogged up to the pair and stopped. Panting, she braced herself at her knees.

“Fancy seeing you two here together. Reminiscing on old times?” 

It wasn’t exactly sarcasm Rey could detect in the other woman’s voice. But there was definitely amusement and curiosity. 

_ Not even two days before we expose ourselves, _ Rey thought ruefully. 

“Just giving Niima my tip… I mean... some tips. She has a way to go if she wants to make the team.”

“I’m sure she does,” said Connix wryly. “Just be sure that  _ all _ applicants get to benefit from your tip… I mean... your tips. The Directors won’t take kindly to favoritism, and it's a long flight back to New York for you - and for me, too.”

Ben’s demeanour shifted immediately, and he took a step back.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” he muttered, staring at the ground. “No one is getting any special treatment.”

“Good!” Connix said brightly. “Care to join me, Solo?” Her brow arched questioningly.

“Keep building your core strength, Niima. Work on your running speed and your basic pull-ups, push-ups, squats, and planks.” Ben nodded his goodbye, and joined Connix in her jog.

As she watched them move away, Rey was a tumble of confusion. On one hand, Ben had made some very clear declarations. 

_ He was not letting go of me that easily. He cares about me more than anyone. _

On the other, it felt unfinished. Like they were not able to truly express how they felt in the most natural way - through touch. In a matter of weeks she had become very accustomed to his affection and passion. Now without it, it was as if a very important part of the equation was missing.

She also still didn’t care for being bossed about - but then at the same time, she did have a long way to go. 

But there was little she could do about it. She had seen his reaction when questioned by Connix, and knew he would hold to his honor as much as she would hold to hers. In the meantime, there were her studies and the obstacle course to focus on.

She resumed her jog, and resolved to work on those planks and pull ups. 

____________

Ben was distant with her for the next few days, only giving her the attention that was due to her during the training sessions. What Connix had said had really put the wind up him, but at least they’d had the opportunity to clear the air between them.

She still longed to be close with him, however. That part remained hanging in the air.

The days had passed quickly enough in a haze of classes, reps - and that bloody obstacle course. Rey had shaved fourteen seconds off her time, but there was still a ways to go.

Jyn continued to be friendly enough; Snap and Cassian seemed to have a bro code going on together. As for Bazine, well there was something there that just didn’t sit right with Rey. She supposed perhaps she felt threatened or jealous - but then again, Jyn was closing in on that ten minute time frame each day - and Rey was not acrimonious towards  _ her _ . 

Rey was so lost in thought while inspecting the breakfast buffet that she missed a person sidling up beside her.

“It’s curious, don’t you think?” Bazine purred.

“What?” Rey was stilted in her response; she didn’t trust this person as far as she could throw her. Which wasn’t that far. 

Yet.

“Everyone here has a background of some sort. Intelligence, military… I mean my father was MI6. But not you.” 

“You heard Solo, I excelled at the testing. Kicked your arse, to quote him,” Rey retorted hotly.

Bazine grimaced, and then continued. “It's almost as if you are a nobody from nowhere, really.”

Rey felt as if she had been slapped in the face.

“Pedigrees are for animals, not people. Other than your esteemed father, what experience do you have? It’s not transferable by osmosis. You need to prove yourself just as much as I do. You have just as far to go.”

The other woman bristled and snorted.

“I will have you know, Rey from nowhere, that I am  _ very _ experienced, more than you know. I don’t need to prove myself at anything!”

She didn’t like that much, Rey thought smugly. 

“I know all about you,” Bazine hissed. “Plus, I see you making eyes at Solo - as if he would even give a second glance to a little mouse like you. Imagine how hard we’ll laugh when he finds out about your little crush. But don’t worry, I’m keeping my cards close to my chest - for now. ” 

With a sneer, she flounced off. 

The barb stung more than it should have, and Rey stood shaking with rage. At the same time it was reassuring that Bazine thought the feelings were one sided. Better than thinking they were reciprocated, and had been acted on.

So then, what did Bazine mean - what did she know? It unsettled her that the other woman had information on her that Rey was unaware of. She wished she could go to Ben for comfort and advice, but all that would do was reinforce the idea that she needed mollycoddling. 

That wouldn’t do at all.

Resolving to push the altercation from her mind, she headed to an empty seat in the dining area. She reviewed the day's classes over her steaming bowl of porridge. The catering was excellent, and for that she was relieved.

_ Operational Training _ .

She blushed at a memory, and then quickly shoved it away. It would not do at all to remember how well operational training had gone down during her time with Ben. She had received a great deal of instruction in the carnal arts - as opposed to the martial ones.

This wouldn’t be like her sessions with Ben, she reminded herself. Connix was the instructor, plus she felt no such lust for Snap or Cassian. She would go toe to toe with them any day. 

However, it was with a sinking heart and fiery loins that Rey clapped her eyes on Ben in the sparring room. He was wearing a pair of loose fitting track pants and another tight black t-shirt. She was going to have him arrested for crimes against her underwear.

He was talking in a low voice with Connix, who was similarly attired. Bazine was already waiting, of course wearing another designer outfit. 

Style over substance, Rey thought bitterly. She pushed down her unease. Maybe Bazine really didn’t know anything at all, and was just trying to unnerve her competition? Rey decided she would not let it get to her, although the feeling still remained.

Snap and Cassian were strutting their prowess like peacocks, pretending to wrestle each other. Rey rolled her eyes; she didn’t know whose benefit the show was for. Jyn was waiting patiently as ever, curious but largely unreadable. Rey wished she had an attitude like Jyn’s, because she didn’t know how she was going to survive this class. Ben’s raw energy and power filled the room, and she felt herself drawn to it. He glanced her way and gave her a thin smile. 

She supposed he felt it, too.

Connix cleared her throat, and everyone quickly fell into line.

“Ops training is an essential part of your work. You won’t often be called to use it, but when you are, you will be awfully glad that you can. Remember Budapest, Solo?”

Ben grimaced. “Hell yes I do.”

Bazine laughed as if she was in on the joke. Rey had the overwhelming urge to thump her.

“So, to kick things off, we are going to explore the fine art of the pat down. It's time to get frisky. What do you think, Solo - are you ready to get frisky?”

Ben narrowed his eyes as he looked at his partner. “Exactly how frisky are we going to get?”

“I guess that depends on our recruits. Let’s find out, shall we?” Connix scanned the room, smiling as her gaze settled on Rey. “Niima, you look ready, come up here and let's get a demonstration happening.”

Rey gulped. How the hell was she going to give a demonstration without getting frisky herself? In fact, if she was honest, she was almost beyond frisky and heading into full blown need.

The group was looking at her expectantly. She couldn’t decline without arousing suspicion, and in any case she still needed to learn how to do it. She was here to be recruited, not shy away when things got hard.

She winced inwardly at her choice of words as she made her way to stand next to Ben. She couldn’t look at him directly, but she saw him working his jaw from the corner of her vision. Trying to appear passive, she was sure her pounding heart must have been reverberating around the room.

“Solo, stand behind Niima.” 

Ben did as instructed. The heat radiated from his body; she could feel the tension between them.

“Who here knows the purpose of the frisk?”

Jyn raised her hand. “To detect concealed weapons or contraband.”

Connix nodded with a smile. “That’s right. Solo, commence the demonstration.”

“Outstretch your hands, and stand with your feet shoulder width apart.” He muttered.

She did as she was told, and felt his hands at the top of her head.

_ Don’t close your eyes. Don’t purr. _

He began to pat.

“See, Solo here starts at the top, using the backs of his hands to inspect her. Not his palms - we aren’t here to get to second base - we are here to make sure we’re safe.”

_ Second base… how long has it been since Ben and I went to second… stop that! _

Rey stared blankly into space, praying for the ability to astral project herself out of her body. At the same time, it was glorious to have his hands on her. She felt him move along her shoulders and arms, then stroking down the length of her back, goosebumps following in his wake.

_ Don’t. Swoon. _

“Now when he gets to the sensitive regions like the buttocks, he will move from a pat to a sweeping motion.”

_ Jesus that feels good. _

“When it comes to her hips, notice he puts one hand on her hip while the other runs along the inside of her thighs.”

_ You can’t cum just from a thigh touch, can you?  _

She remembered the times when she had. 

_ Please God, no.  _

“Don’t forget the waistband of her pants.”

_ Dear God, yes. _

Rey could feel Connix’s eyes boring into her, searching for answers to a question Rey was afraid was being asked.

“Solo, you forgot to ask if Niima had any sore or sensitive areas to be careful with.”

“Do you, Rey?”

He knew full well of her sensitive areas. She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

“That looks like fun. Can I get a turn?” Snap asked. Rey could feel her blush intensifying.

Ben’s hand tightened at her waist. “No problem Wexley, I’ll do you next.”

Snap’s smirk faltered. Rey suppressed a snort. 

“The frisk should only be used to detect concealed weapons or contraband,” Connix admonished. “Not for fun. Are you having fun, Solo?”

“I’m a professional, Connix,” he replied coolly.

“Don’t forget to check her pockets.”

“She doesn’t have any,” she heard through gritted teeth.

She sensed he was kneeling behind her, as his hands patted her arse. Gritting her teeth, there was no way she was letting anyone know how turned on she was. Anyone but Ben. Once finished, he stood and moved away from her. With her ordeal over, Rey moved to join her classmates. Her legs felt like jelly.

“Where are you going, Niima? Let’s see what you’ve learned.”

Rey froze, and both she and Ben slowly turned to look at their instructor. Connix stood with her head cocked slightly to one side. 

_ She has to know, otherwise why would she do this? _

Ignoring Bazine’s snicker, Rey returned to fall behind Ben, standing on her tiptoes to reach the top of his head. Her mind was swirling.

_ What the hell am I supposed to be doing again? Oh yes, back of the hands. _

“It's not a caress, Niima,” Connix said dryly as Rey explored Ben’s body.

Ben remained impassive, unmoving as if under the same spell she had tried to put herself under. She moved to his hip to commence the leg pat.

“Look for suspicious bulges. Find anything suspicious, Niima?”

“Not yet,” Rey glared up at her, although she was certain she felt something move as her hand reached Ben’s inner thigh.

_ So close, yet so far. _

Every muscle was taut and hard, and tension radiated from his body. It must have been just as hard for him as it was for her. Even as she tried to disconnect herself from how he felt under her fingertips, the ache inside her was almost overpowering. She would need a very long, very cold shower after this. 

Once done, as she walked over to the other recruits; this time Connix didn’t try to stop her. 

She hoped Bazine was too stupid or consumed with her reflection to have noticed that there had been anything other than a perfunctory search on display. 

The others broke into pairs as they began to practice; Snap and Cassian seemed a little distracted while Bazine was frisking Jyn. Rey stared at the floor. She felt as if she had been put through a test, one that was not part of the syllabus. She reminded herself that even if Connix did suspect something, Ben was convinced their secret would still be safe.

She hoped for both their sakes that he was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our poor babies. All worked up and nowhere to blow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey hits Ben with her best shot; with surprisingly sexy results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Spacey_Gracie and MyJediLife for the beta and the encouragement.
> 
> Oh - and the mutual thirsting, can not forget that.

Jyn had collapsed on the ground, her chest heaving with exertion. Snap, on the other hand, was running around in a victory lap, waving his shirt like a flag.

“Nine minutes, fifty-two seconds, suckers!”

“Erso came in at nine, forty-five. I don’t see her parading around like a jerk.” Ben noted dryly. “Andor, your time is improving, you just need to shave off another twenty seconds.”

Rey chewed her lip, looking anxiously at the stopwatch in his hand.

“Ten minutes, twenty-five seconds,” he said, his brows raised ever so slightly in encouragement. “Netal, thirty.” 

“The bars are too hard,” Bazine whined. “Since when will I ever need to use monkey bars in my day job?”

“Doesn’t matter. If I were you, I would work on my grip strength rather than complaining about it.”

“How,  _ Ben _ , do you suppose I do that?”

Rey had not seen a grown woman pout in a long time. Yet here she was. Was she trying for alluring? If Rey knew one thing, it was that Ben preferred strong, capable women; not simpering idiots.

He didn't look up from his clipboard. “Given you need to squeeze things hard, I suggest the gym,” he responded coolly.

“Pity,” Bazine said with mock sadness, then winked at Rey.

_ Dragging her back into the mud won’t help my score….but bloody hell it would be worth it. _

“Alright then people, hit the showers.”

Fifteen minutes later Rey was in the shower, pulling the twigs out of her hair. She heard Jyn in the stall next door, as per usual. Shortly after, Rey smiled as her new friend joined her at the basin.

Jyn looked at the dryer in Rey’s hand. “Can I borrow that? Sorry, I forgot mine again.” she added apologetically.

“Of course,” Rey replied easily. “Well done today - you made it.”

Jyn grinned cheekily. “I still want to beat Solo’s time, then rub Wexley’s face in it.”

Rey laughed. “God yes, please do both of those things.”

As Rey handed over the dryer, a considerably less approachable person burst through the bathroom door. Bazine slammed the door at the shower stall furthest away from them. Glancing at Jyn, Rey noticed her eyes were narrowed in disgust. Rey cocked her head quizzically.

“She has a burner phone,” Jyn mouthed. “Texting some guy.”

Surprised, Rey mouthed back. “How do you know?”

“Looked through her stuff,” Jyn shrugged, switching on the dryer. “But she moved it. Don’t know where.”

Bazine was up to something; Rey felt it in her bones. But there was no evidence, just a sneaking suspicion. That wasn’t enough to raise the alarm, and if she was wrong, well, she would look like the fool. It could cost her place with Resistance.  But the phone was definitely a lead. 

The next morning Rey paid close attention to Bazine during the physical training session.  At the end of the course, Ben frowned at his stopwatch, then looked at her questioningly.  Her time suffered by ten seconds, but it didn’t bother her. She had a different goal that day. 

“Showers,” he grunted at the end of the class, and he walked away.

She wished she could share with him what she had planned, but it was still too soon. He would need to understand later. Falling back from the rest of the group, she saw Bazine was not joining them, instead kicking the dirt at the base of the climbing wall as if in contemplation of its challenge.  Rey was not fooled. 

Circling back, she crept through the undergrowth that filled the space between the paths to avoid being spotted. As she inched closer, she could hear Bazine’s voice filter through the trees. She dropped to the ground to hear better.

“No, I haven’t _ yet _ . It’s very hard.”

Rey rolled her eyes; hadn’t Bazine gotten Ben’s memo about whiny babies? As she poked her head a little higher, she could see the tension in the other woman’s shoulders and the pained expression on her face. Whatever was being said on the other end of the line didn’t seem pleasant. 

“Don’t worry, I’m a shoo in,” she cooed, in an attempt to placate. ”There’s no real competition - except for Erso. The others are either macho idiots or lovesick fools. Trust me, it's all going to work out as planned. In three weeks I will be the newest Resistance Recovery Specialist.”

_ What plan? And how dare Bazine call her a lovesick fool! _

Well, Rey had to admit to herself, lovesick was pretty on point. But she was no fool. She resisted the urge to tackle Bazine, throw her to the ground, wrestle the phone from her and fling it into the nearby mud pit. Grimacing, she was reminded that her temper would not serve her. Bazine blew a kiss goodbye on the phone, then placed it in a plastic bag before secreting it in a shrub at the edge of the course. 

Looking around, she quickly sprinted back down the path and out of sight. As soon as the coast was clear, Rey darted out to inspect the phone. It was an older, cheaper model, the kind you would get at Tesco’s Supermarket. Not what you would expect from Miss Fancy Pants.

_ Definitely a burner phone.  _

Hitting the home button rewarded her with an invitation to enter the passcode, which of course she didn’t have. It was too risky to try and even guess; locking it would only signal its discovery.  Bazine was certainly up to something, but what? Who was she talking to? She was closer to the answer, but there were still so many missing pieces. It wasn’t enough to go to Ben with just yet. She needed more.

_____________

Rey had been nervous about her first time. Poe had never asked her to do it, none of her other boyfriends had either. But Ben had reassured her that it was fine for her to feel a little intimidated. Even a little performance anxiety was to be expected. If she felt it was a little big, she would get used to it. He certainly had since he was about thirteen.

After they had finished, her heart had pounded as adrenaline coursed through her body, followed by a rush of feel-good chemicals that flooded her. Ben was so pleased, even so far as declaring her a natural. She had a steady hand and a firm grip.

She hadn’t known that it could feel like that. Ben had said that if she wanted, they could do it in mainland Europe too, although it was more an indoor activity. If she ever visited America with him, they would most  _ definitely _ do it there. Indoors or outdoors, he didn’t mind. Three weeks into her training, she was going to do it with Ben again - in front of a room of people. 

From the first moment she felt the weight of a Glock 17 in her hand, she was hooked. Afterwards, there was something animalistic and savage about the way he had taken her. She had loved every moment of it. Of course, today’s lesson would not conclude with a mad bonking session. 

_ Pity. _

Ben smiled as he issued her the weapon, his fingers ever so lightly grazing hers. The electricity that pulsed between them was palpable. She blushed as she holstered it; the small office that housed the gun safe had them at even closer proximity than was advised.  She went to join the others milling around the firing lanes. The paper targets hung about one hundred and fifty feet away.

Snap snickered as he looked at his Glock. “I’m more used to a Smith & Wesson .500. This little thing should be a breeze.”

Rey rolled her eyes. Snap would - of course - go for one of the biggest handguns on the planet. Probably to compensate for something else.

“I prefer something a little more delicate. A lady’s gun, if you will.”

Rey glared at Bazine. It had been a week since she discovered her rival with the burner phone, and she still had no new leads on what she was up to. No reason to sneak into Ben’s room to share her findings. No chance to thread her fingers through his hair and…

They all stood to attention when Ben cleared his throat.

‘Weapons aptitude is an essential part of this program. We are looking for the fastest, most accurate draw. Note that  _ accuracy _ is the key. Anyone can whip it out, but very few can hit the target.”

Snap and Cassian chortled; Ben narrowed his gaze. He motioned to the control booth behind him. “For today’s exercise, I will be back here recording your time and your accuracy.”

Snap snickered. “What’s  _ your _ time, Solo?”

He snorted. “It’s fast enough, Wexley.”

_ Ben is always fast where it counts.  _

“When I call out your name, take your shot. Get into position.”

Her heart was thumping as she entered her assigned firing lane. She resisted the urge to wipe her sweaty palms on her leggings. Sweaty palms made for a better grip.

Ben hit the intercom into the firing range. “Wexley.”

Without a moment's hesitation, Snap drew and fired. 

“Netal.”

“Andor.”

“Erso.”

Each name was punctuated by an earsplitting bang. It made her jump, despite her protective gear. The acrid smell of burnt gunpowder began to fill the air around her. 

His voice boomed over the intercom. “Niima.”

Time slowed down as she reached for the gun. She looked down the sight of her weapon, took aim, exhaled and pulled the trigger. It was quickly followed by an explosion of sensations, the bright muzzle flash and body-jolting recoil. Then the head rush hit her, like it always did.  Shaking, she holstered the Glock and pressed the button to pull the corflute target towards her. Snap gave a loud victory whoop that echoed across the facility.

“Bullseye! That, ladies and germs, is how it is done.”

_ Idiot. _

As the target came closer a smile spread across her face. Snap was not the only one with a bullseye. A spark of excitement jolted through her; she had a chance of winning this round.

Ben’s voice boomed across the intercom. “I’m coming out with your results. Leave your weapons, unloaded, in your lanes.”

The adrenaline was still coursing through her. She didn’t know about her time, but her accuracy could not be faulted. As they gathered round to hear the outcome, she saw that Snap looked as cocky and self assured as always, while the others were more subdued. Ben walked over, the printed results in his hand. He glanced her way briefly, but it wasn’t enough for her to get a read on him.

Ben cleared his throat, studying the paper.

“Wexley, point nine seconds and a bullseye. Impressive.”

Snap cackled and beckoned Cassian to give him a high-five. Snap’s military training was evident, and from the look on Ben’s face at the time, perhaps he deserved to have a big head about it.

“Andor. One point three seconds, which is a fair effort. Except you hit far left. You're jerking your trigger finger.”

Cassian grimaced; Snap slapped him on the back in condolence. His own smug look remained.

“Netal, one second even. Just a little off target, work on thumbing the trigger and you should be fine.”

Bazine beamed, gifting Rey with a sly smile look.

_ But not a bullseye sweetheart. _

“Erso, bullseye…” 

Snap made a strangled sound. 

“One point one.” 

Snap breathed a sigh of relief; Rey could see he had already claimed victory; she hoped she could wipe that look from his face.

Ben cleared his throat, she met his eyes, and fell into his gaze - a heady mix of desire and awe. “Niima, bullseye. Point eight nine.”

Silence echoed throughout the facility; you could have heard a pin drop. It was only broken by the eruption from a very disgruntled second place getter.

“Bullshit!”

Cassian cackled. “She kicked your butt, Wexley.”

“Not bullshit,” Ben replied coolly, his eyes still holding hers. “Well done to everyone. Especially well done to Rey.” 

“Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit,” Snap muttered in disgust. “I’m calling it a day. Andor, you coming?”

“Sure,” Cassian replied smoothly. “Well done Rey, but I’ll still own you in Intelligence.” He said with a smile.

Rey grinned. “Let’s see.”

Snap and Cassian left, with an awfully quiet Bazine in tow.

“Are we done for the day, sir?” Jyn asked.

“All done Erso, good show.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m proud of you, Rey.” Jyn gave her a quick hug and made her way out of the complex.

Suddenly, they were finally alone after all this time. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins from her victory, and from the way he was looking at her. Her head was swimming; the energy that flowed between them was so strong she felt she could reach out and grab it. She knew she should leave before things got out of hand. Really, she should. If only he would stop looking at her like that, everything would be fine. She would leave and have yet another cold shower to extinguish her tension.

“I suppose I should…” She could hear how unconvincing she sounded.

He snorted, his nostrils flaring. “Stay here. I need you to help me check the weapons back in.”  His eyes were dark pools of intensity that pierced straight into her. 

Lord, she needed him.

So, she did as she was told.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm... does he really want her to help with putting the weapons away… or just with putting his weapon away? Chapter 5 will reveal all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey knows how to handle Ben’s weapon. Real good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I commissioned art from Boomdafunk and I LOVE it. Especially Rey's face. Rey is all of us.
> 
> Thank you to spacey_gracie & myjedilife for their wonderful support, encouragement and beta work.

“Stay here. I need you to help me check the weapons back in.”

She did as she was told. They gathered the weapons in silence, though her hands shook from excitement. The longer they remained alone, the more likely it was he would end up inside her. 

_ I should go, I should go, I should go. _

“The gun locker, now.” 

“Okay.”

_ Don’t look at him, don’t look at him, don’t look at him. _

Biting her lip, she stared at him intently. This was headed somewhere it shouldn’t, but she found herself caught in the heady tension between them. She’d felt it building since the previous day when they had mended their bond, but couldn’t express themselves in the way they desperately needed to.  Then when Connix had paired them together for the operational training, well, the feel of him between her thighs was more than she could take. She was only mortal.

They walked into the armoured locker in silence, then dutifully checked each gun back in one by one. The tension inside her continued to build as she waited, her eyes darting around the small, sparsely furnished office. He slammed the locker door forcefully, and set the code.  She began to think that perhaps she had misread the signals. Maybe she really was only here to help? But as he turned, she noticed that his mouth pulled as he looked at her like he was a starving man and she was a delectable feast.

_ I’m not going anywhere. _

“Turn around, hands on the desk and your legs spread.” he grunted. The intensity across his face sent a bolt of electricity through her. What was about to happen would be fast and rough. She felt the intoxicating pull towards him, as if trapped in a forcefield.

“You need a proper frisking.” 

She very much wanted a proper frisking. She spun to face the desk, slowly placing each hand before her as instructed. Her fingernails scratched against the smooth laminate surface, but it did little to ease her tension. There was only one thing that could.  She poked her backside out as she spread her legs. She heard a growl rumble behind her, and she smirked. He closed the distance between them, molding himself to her body. She pressed into the desk a little harder, causing her to exhale sharply. 

“Wider.” He whispered in her ear, dragging her hips back from the desk and shifting her feet further apart with his foot. Every cell in her body was screaming for his touch - it had only been three weeks - but it felt like a lifetime.

She felt his hands sweep across her form. Firm, demanding, exploring. It was much more intense than the demonstration in class. He crouched down, slowly drifting his hands up her inner thighs. The higher his fingers explored, the faster her heart pounded in her chest. Her fingernails pressed deeper against the laminate.

“This is what I wanted to do to you last week. It took everything I had to not touch you more. I could feel how tense you were, how you were shaking just ever so slightly. How much you wanted me.”

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Then when you were exploring me.. fuck, I started to get hard, Rey. Right  _ there _ in front of everyone.”

He ran butterfly kisses across her backside, and she lowered herself onto her forearms. Her arms could no longer bear her weight, and her head was spinning; she felt as weak as a kitten. His exploring brushed featherlight patterns along the apex between her thighs. As soft as it was, a lustful moan still escaped her parted lips. She whined as his hands headed back down towards the floor.

“I felt it. You missed a bit,” she said, thrusting her backside into his face.

Without warning he sharply yanked down her leggings and underwear. The cool air in the room danced across her skin, but she almost lost her mind as his hot mouth found her. She groaned loudly in delight.

“Jesus, you are so fucking wet,” he muttered against her. She squealed as he laved at her. “Keep it down, we can’t get busted. Connix suspects enough as it is.”

_ How the hell am I supposed to be quiet while you are doing that to me?  _

“Any other instructions?” she retorted with a moan. 

He stood abruptly, and she could hear the telltale sound of a zipper being pulled. She braced herself for what was to come; she needed him inside her like nothing else.

“You have a suspicious package,” she purred.

“That I do. Christ, you are so ready for me.” He ran his cock along her slit.

Her face contorted in ecstasy. “I’ve been ready since last week,” she whined.

“That, my love, you have,” he said as he lined himself up to her. Groaning in unison, he slid into her. She pulsed around him as the familiar sting gave way to pure, unadulterated pleasure.

“Fuck,” he hissed. “You feel fucking amazing.”

She slapped the desk. “Give it to me hard.”

“You will have to attend class tomorrow with a fucking ice pack between your legs after I am done with you.”

“Bullshit,” she retorted, turning to look at him. “I can handle it.”

He started to thrust. Slow at first, his breath hitching against her ear, then as he felt her body welcome him, he picked up the pace. His fingers dug into her hips and she was sure she would bruise, but she didn’t care. She braced herself so he could pound into her harder; she was so tightly wound she thought she might explode.

She moaned again, it was sweet relief to have him inside her, like a maddening itch had finally been scratched.

“Honey, you seriously need to be quiet,” he hissed.

She clenched around him and he stuttered as if caught in a vice. Her toes curled in ecstasy as he began to drag against the place deep inside her that made her see stars. 

He growled behind her. 

“You've been working on your core strength, I see. Your ass looks fantastic.” He punctuated his comment with a sharp slap across her backside. She loved it when he took her roughly like this. There was a place for soft languid lovemaking that took all the time in the world, but there was also a place for hard fucking like the end of the world was imminent. 

“You always say my arse looks fantastic,” she moaned. The desk rattled with each thrust, which was matched by the rhythmic slap of skin against skin.

“You have the finest ass in the northern hemisphere. But you needed to work on it to cover the wall. What the fuck happened with your time the other day?”

“Just a bad day,” she hitched, she didn’t want to ruin the mood by mentioning her nemesis. “I suppose you are going to critique my weapon handling skills next?” She added hotly.

“No,” he grunted, accompanied by a particularly forceful plunge that had her reeling. She was so close; a low pitched keen was rising up through her body. For days she had been so worked up that she knew it would take so little to tip her over the edge - and he was already giving her so much. 

“Fuck you’re loud, and I love it,” he grunted as he pounded her. “But the whole county is going to know I’m nailing you.”

Suddenly he broke away, and she wailed as her pleasure faltered. Spinning her around, he lifted her onto the desk as if she was nothing but a rag doll. She collapsed, and he unceremoniously yanked at her leggings and underwear, flinging them across the room. He slammed back into her and she gripped the edge of the desk for dear life, her legs resting against his shoulders.

She panted as he stared at her. His palm wrapped across her mouth as his other hand found her clit. “I want to see your face as I tell you this.” He thrust deep and hard, then resumed his relentless, exquisite assault on her.

She nodded; all she could do was submit.

“The way you handled that gun today had me so hard that I wanted to fuck you right there and then on the floor of the shooting range. You showed that asshole Wexley who was boss, and Andor is beginning to take you far more seriously. They see your raw talent like I do - and it's sexy as hell. You are like heroin, Rey, and no matter what the cost I can’t stay away from you.”

“Yes,” she whimpered against his hand. She felt the same way about him. The massive wall building deep within her belly was almost unbearable, and the lightness in her chest told her she was about to be completely ruined. 

She was going to need that ice pack.

The hand across her mouth did little to extinguish her moans. The way he looked at her, his hair flopping on his forehead with each thrust, the way his body covered hers. He dragged her knees to his shoulders and buried himself even deeper, almost folding her in two . She was half mad from the pounding he was giving her. It had never been like this before - desperate, needy and beyond all sense and reason. They were both powerless to stop it.

“Fuck Rey, I’m gonna cum,” he grunted as he collapsed on top of her, relentlessly taking his pleasure from her body as she bellowed out her orgasm. His fingers did not stop for a moment at her clit, her body rigid in spasm as her climax took over her entire body. 

Wave after wave washed over her as she felt his own hot release shudder into her. She could tell he was trying to hold back from shouting her name across the complex, as he often liked to do in these moments. She was glad one of them had the good sense to try and keep things quiet. His body stuttered and shook, then stilled as they both lay boneless - yet connected.

Nothing could be heard other than panting and gasping for breath. Aftershocks ran through her; and she found herself unable to move. Slowly they came back into their surroundings, and a dreamy tenderness began to wash over them. They softly nuzzled and stroked each other. Little kisses scattered across cheeks and lips. She felt adored in that moment; secure in the knowledge that while she did not know the extent of them, he had strong feelings for her.

“We are terrible at this,” he muttered against her neck.

_ What the hell was he talking about? _

“Terrible at what?” she panted, her eyes still closed. 

“Terrible at keeping our hands off each other,” he chuckled.

_ Oh, yes, that. _

She giggled in reply. 

“Why do we even try and pretend that we can?”

He lifted himself up to look down on her and smiled. 

“I don’t know. I feel like there should be a good reason, but for the life of me I can’t remember it right now.” He swore as he pulled himself up off her; she remained limp, unable to move.

Fumbling with his zipper, he pulled himself back together, and then drunkenly looked around to find her clothing. His movements were awkward and clumsy as he dressed her.

“It’s so hard to leave you.” He crooned, his voice soft and soothing. She didn’t want him to leave either, but she knew he had to.

She clasped his waiting hand to pull herself upright. Cupping her face, he gently kissed her before breaking to gaze into her eyes.

“This was just for tonight, I know we can’t do this again,” Rey offered softly before he did.

He nodded sadly.

“The Directors are here next soon for the final assessments, and if you think I’m tough - well, it's nothing compared to them. We can’t risk exposure. But after this is all over, I am going to take you to bed for a week and make love to you properly.” He grinned. “You know you can be as loud as you like in my London apartment.”

She smiled in response; that sounded like heaven. All the same, she wanted to ask what it was that made him so concerned about the Directors. Were they not nice people? Did they have three heads? But she knew to hold her questions; she had learned that after the incident in the car. There was no way she wanted to ruin this moment.

She wanted to hold onto it forever.

“Goodbye, Rey,” he said with a parting kiss. “Wait here for ten and then it should be safe for you to go.

“Goodbye, Ben.”

_________

She hit the showers as soon as she was inside the main training complex. Part of her wanted to keep the scent and feel of him with her for as long as possible. The other part of her felt as if she needed to remove the evidence. The sensible part of herself won out. 

She felt like she could stretch out like a cat, she was so languid and relaxed. At the same time, there was an unease. He had fucked her brains well and truly out, leaving her so blase about everything that aliens could land and she would shrug as if no big deal. She loved the sex, she  _ longed  _ for the sex. But she longed for him, his spirit, his soul. Their brief time in aftercare had not been enough to sate that need in her. But for the time being it was all she had to cling to, even if it felt incomplete.

She hoped they would get the chance to rectify it before too long. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Rey regret her interlude (answer: no) and will the others suspect something? After all - it’s spy school people!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bazine’s secret is revealed, as is Ben and Rey’s relationship.

As dusk fell, the group gathered to play a game of poker. Cassian’s cards had not been confiscated as contraband, and with no television, phones or nightlife they had settled into a nightly ritual. Rey rarely played. She had a terrible poker face, and considering the calibre of people she was playing against, she thought it prudent to not give them any more intel.

She slowly sipped a mug of hot cocoa, reliving her stolen moment with Ben over and over again in her mind before admonishing herself. She was convinced that the others could tell there was something different about her, but no one paid her the slightest bit of attention. 

Watch. Learn about your competitors. 

Cassian was as crafty as expected, his eyes watching the players far more intently than his hand. Rey supposed that while he still had to conquer the obstacle course, and he had done poorly in the weapons training, his knack for intelligence shouldn’t be underestimated. 

Snap did not possess a poker face either. Each time he had a bad hand, he would fold his cards together in disgust. Cassian and Jyn were well able to use it to their advantage, and soon Snap’s pile of matchsticks dwindled away to nothing. But he had placed well during the course and in the weapons training (although not as well as she had), so he was still technically a contender. For the life of her she could not see how he could pass Intelligence or the interview with the Directors.

Jyn, as usual, was giving nothing away, quietly building her pile. She had done exceedingly well in the obstacle course, and respectably enough in weapons training. But she was hands down the winner in the personality stakes.

Bazine. 

She had done respectably at weapons training and in intelligence. Her obstacle course timing wasn’t great, though. She didn’t seem like a worthy opponent, but she carried herself as if she was. Rey had caught a glimpse of her hand before Bazine moved her matches into the pot. Her eyes narrowed; a straight flush. It seemed unfair that such a good hand went to such an unpleasant person.

Cassian watched Bazine intently, before matching her.

She sighed heavily. 

“That’s too rich for me. I’m out.”

Rey’s ears pricked up. 

Cassian scrunched his forehead. “You’re out?”

“No luck for me tonight,” Bazine quickly shoved her cards back into the deck before shuffling. “I should quit while I’m ahead. I’m going to go for a walk,” she said breezily.

Cassian sat back, his head tilted to one side.

Bazine was as competitive as anyone here, there was no way that she would have thrown a hand without some other motive. Rey bet her next orgasm that Bazine was headed to her secret phone. Fifteen minutes later, Rey wondered why she had bothered to shower, as dirt caked into her knees and hands as she crept up on her target. In the fading light she could just make out Bazine’s shape.

“I’m doing my best. It’s not my fault the competition…”

Rey could hear the tirade on the other end of the line reverberate through the trees.  
She almost felt sorry for the other woman.

Almost.

Bazine sniffed, it was almost as if Rey could hear the pout. “Well, you were the one who trained me - ever think that maybe that has something to do with it?”

Trained you? Who trained you? 

“Really, well who else had the clean background to pull this off? None of your other buddies, that’s for sure.”

Rey clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp, earning a mouthful of dirt. 

“Of course I still want to work for you!”

Who the hell are you talking to?

The voice continued unabated. “Armitage!” Bazine shrieked in frustration. The voice stopped and the line went silent; Bazine threw her phone into the bushes and stormed away. Rey’s jaw hit the ground.

Armitage HUX?!!? That arsehole?

Rey was rooted to the spot. Waves of shock, anger and fear continued to wash over her. Bazine was working for the First Order?

She was a spy? 

At spy school?

Things were quickly falling into place. Why Bazine had been so put out when her phone was confiscated. What she had said that day at breakfast about knowing Rey’s history - of course Hux would have filled her in on the Ashanti Necklace job. Now that the truth was out, she had to tell Ben - and fast.   
_________

Her leg jiggled as she discreetly knocked on Ben’s door, slapping her thigh to still her nerves. She had passed that door many times with a desperate longing, knowing he was there - but untouchable.She had spent countless nights concocting elaborate schemes in her mind to give a legitimate reason to go to him. To be legitimately in his company. But her imagination had only produced small fires, health code violations and fake first aid emergencies. Nothing like the actual reality she now faced.

She chewed her lip and waited.

When he opened the door in a robe with wet hair fresh from the shower, she was catapulted back to the first morning they met. When he had made an offer that she just could not refuse - and had captured her heart in the process. 

“Rey?” Surprise registered across his face.

She found her tongue. “I need to talk with you right now… privately.”

His jaw dropped, and she could see the whites of his eyes. “No...honey..” He quickly looked around. “We can’t, I want to again too, but…”

“Shut up - that’s not why I’m here. Just let me in.” She softly hissed. 

He stared at her for a brief moment, then yanked her into his room. Regaining her composure, she straightened herself and fixed him with a glare. 

“There is no need to be so rough.” 

“Well, excuse me for panicking, but you are not supposed to be here.... Why are you here?” He shook his head in bewilderment, small water droplets falling from his hair.

“It’s Bazine.”

“What about Bazine?”

“I have been following her.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why would you do that?”

She set her jaw and pursed her lips. “I had a hunch, now it’s been confirmed. She’s working for the First Order. ”

His jaw hit the floor. “Fucking what?”

“I overheard her talking to Hux on her bush burner phone. He trained her to infiltrate Resistance. She’s a double agent.”

His hand shook as he pushed it through his hair. “This is really, really bad. Fuck!” he barked. “What did she say? How do you know?”

“It sounded like Hux was not happy with her performance, so she retorted that no one else had a clean background check, and he trained her - so maybe it was his fault. She said of course she still wants to work for the First Order. Then she threw her phone into a bush.”

He stumbled to the bed, shaking. She quickly went and sat beside him, placing his hand in hers for comfort.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he breathed a long sigh. “Fuck.”

“I know,” she said softly. 

He raised his eyes to hers, which were filled with trepidation. “This is a major fuck up.”

“I know.” She squeezed his hand.

“What are we going to do?”

We. She stifled her smile. “Expose her and then boot her.”

He gave a nervous laugh. 

“Before my… the Directors get here. Fuck, thank god the background checks were done by the head office. But still… Fuck.”

She cupped his cheek and smiled softly. “It's going to be okay. We got this.”

“Fucking Hux.”

“Fucking Hux,” she nodded.

He fell onto the back of the bed, his feet still stretched out to the floor. His hands covered his face as he moaned.

“Ben Solo, there is no room for whiny babies in this relationship.”

He lifted his hands, and looked at her incredulously.

“We will fix this,” she said, stretching her body out in line with his. The circumstances were terrible, but it felt so good to hold him.

“Yes, we will.” He sounded more resolute this time. “I will send Bazine back to the First Order with her tail between her legs. Hux won’t get away with this. I just need to work out how.”

“That’s the way,” she said encouragingly. “There’s the Ben Solo that I know and… know so much about.” The words had almost passed her lips, but she caught herself just in time. 

His body went rigid, and he stared at her intently for several long moments. She returned his look with a silent plea. 

Don’t make me do this.

“We need to talk when we get back to London. Really talk. Really, really talk.”

“I promise,” she nodded solemnly. She settled back down into his arms; he sighed and she felt his body relax. They lay in silence for several moments, their arms intertwined. 

“I missed this.” His chest rumbled as he spoke.

“Me too. Bliss.” she said, nuzzling his cheek. She slid her hand under the folds of his robe. His stomach was warm and comforting under her palm.

He shifted his face to look at her. “It’s really hot that you found this out. It slipped by everyone else.”

She grinned. “I know, right?” She hadn’t wanted to brag, but truly, it was a stellar job on her part. 

His eyes searched her face. “I have felt like a part of me was missing this evening. I think it was this.”

She vigorously nodded her agreement; then her eyes drifted down to his broad chest before flitting back up to his face. There was no time for it, but she so much wanted to caress him. To be closer. From the look on his face, he was thinking along a similar line.

“We can just kiss,” he said throatily. “We didn’t do that much… earlier. So, really it’s like the same session, we aren’t breaking our rules.”

With her heart pounding she dove at him, moaning as their lips met. She pressed against his naked chest as his hands plundered her hair. His tongue gently probed the inside of her mouth before he groaned and began to explore her in earnest. They were suddenly a mess of lips, mouths and limbs. 

How did I end up on top of him?

Should I be grinding like this?

We should stop.

Shit, his hands are on my boobs.

Just one more time won’t hurt.

Is he…….?

Ohhhhhhhhh, he is.

As was always inevitable, the moment they opened Pandora’s box they were lost in each other.

Where is that knocking sound coming from?

They broke apart for a moment, blinking at each other in confusion. The knock came again, this time accompanied with an unmistakable voice.

“Solo, I know you’re in there.”

“Connix,” they whispered in unison.

“Get in the bathroom,” Ben hissed, retying the belt on his robe to hide what was now a slowly deflating erection, but Rey was already way ahead of him. She slid the door silently behind her, desperately trying to catch her breath. She was consumed with a burning desire and a gripping fear as she clamped her hand around her mouth to quell the sound of her ragged panting.

The sounds were muffled, but she could just make out the words when she pressed her ear to the door. 

“What took you so long? Why are you panting? Are you having an asthma attack? You don’t have asthma.”

“I… was doing my,” he gasped, “burpees.”

Rey was sure she heard a snort. “In your bathrobe?”

“What do you want, Connix?” His voice was a low grumble. For anyone else it would signal the need to get out of Dodge, but it didn’t seem to bother Connix.

“I will be collecting Leia and Luke at Heathrow in five days time. I thought you should know.”

“That’s earlier than expected,” he mumbled. Rey felt a nervous twinge at the idea of meeting the Directors. Ben was always so mysterious and cagey about them; they must really be tyrants.

“Anything you want to share with me? Before they arrive?”

“Nope.”

“Nothing I should be concerned with? Worried about? Aware of?”

Rey chewed her lip, betting dollars to donuts that Ben was doing the same to his cheek. Did Connix know about Bazine, too? Why not just come out and say it?

“What are you getting at, Connix?” he said gruffly.

Rey could make out a loud sigh.

“Have it your way. Also, when Rey comes out of your bathroom, ask her to come find me.” 

Rey felt the colour drain from her face; Connix wasn’t referring to Bazine. Connix was referring to her. It seemed that the time to come clean had arrived. It felt sickening, but at the same time, mixed with a sense of relief. At least they wouldn’t need to hide around one person anymore.

Did anyone else suspect anything?

She went to open the door but was stopped by Ben’s voice. “What are you talking about? Rey’s not here. But if I see her, I will be sure to tell her.”

“In your bathrobe, I suppose?” Connix snickered.

“Get out,” he gruffed; she heard the door close sharply. Several heartbeats passed, then the bathroom door opened.

“Do you think she bought it?” Rey whispered.

“No,” he said glumly. “She’s most likely still outside the door, waiting to pounce. Fix your hair and I’ll get dressed. Then we can tell her about Bazine.”

Just as Ben predicted, as soon as he was dressed and opened the door, they were greeted by Connix’s smiling face as she bustled in.

“Hi Rey.”

“Hi Connix. I was just telling Ben…”

Connix laughed. “Look I get it, I got it from the moment he introduced you and got you to sign the fake girlfriend contract. You two are hopeless.”

“So then what was the deal in ops training last week?” Ben said hotly. 

Yeah, Rey thought. What was the deal with that?

“It was a test. You didn’t pass. Although the effort was admirable.”

Ben grunted in acknowledgement. 

“Just don’t do anything stupid like bang while you are here, okay? The hills have eyes in this joint. It's spy school, remember.” 

The pair shifted nervously; it was a little late for that bit of advice.

Connix rolled her eyes. “Seriously. I better not get stuck on a mission with you two.” 

Ben smirked. “Well, it’s too late, because you already are.” 

Connix scrunched her face and shook her head. “What the crap are you talking about?”

“Darling, why don’t you do the honours?”

Over the next few minutes as Rey filled her in, Connix’s reaction was much the same as Ben’s had been. Shock, outrage, despair, worry - and then finally settling on pure vengeance. Less canoodling after, however. Which was fine.

“Rey, you just saved not only Ben’s bacon, but the company’s too. Again. Hire her Ben, before you do something stupid and ruin it.”

Ben grinned. “That’s what I am trying to do. For now though, what are we going to do about our little situation; and before the Directors get here? We have to neutralise this by then or no one gets hired. Including us.” He nodded at Connix.

“Ben,” Rey was exasperated by now. “Every time you mention the Directors it is as if the devil himself is arriving. Just what is it about them that has everyone so terrified?”

The pair went silent for several moments. 

“Uh…” Ben chewed the side of his mouth, his eyes darted around the room.

“What Solo is trying to say, is that Luke and Leia are particular and have very firm ideas on how things should be done. There is no room for breaches of protocol or mistakes. Of which we have both - between the two of you, and now with the Bazine problem.”

Ben’s shoulders dropped, like a massive burden had been lifted. “Yes, what she said.”

“But they are very nice bosses really, if you don’t get on their bad side.” Connix added, in what Rey supposed was an attempt at helpfulness. So why was she not convinced?

“So,” Connix exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “What are we going to do with Bazine, and the horse’s arse she rode in with?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A spy - at spy school? What do our trio have in store for the duplicitous Bazine?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All bad things come to those who try to pull the wool over the eyes of Resistance Recovery Solutions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I have not ever been to spy school, conducted a surveillance sweep or escaped an escape room, and it was not feasible for me to do so to write this chapter. Enjoy!

Three days later, Connix took them for physical training. 

“Solo needs to make arrangements for your evaluations today, so you are stuck with me, cupcakes. Now, drop and give me fifty.”

Fifty pushups was now much easier than it used to be, and Rey was that much closer to passing the course. She only needed to shave fifteen seconds off her time. Still, she missed Ben in those running shorts that left very little to the imagination. Not that she needed to use her imagination. She was intimately acquainted with what lay beneath that Coolmax fabric.

She didn’t need to wait long to see him, however; he replaced Ackbar for the morning’s Intelligence session.

“Our Directors are arriving early, so we are bringing the final intelligence evaluation forward.” he explained. “You also have two days to conquer the obstacle course. No more chances after that.” Even though he didn’t so much as glance in her direction, she knew it was a message just for her. 

The other recruits looked at each other in surprise at the change in schedule; Rey supposed she would need to make out like she was just as shocked as they were. She assumed it had something to do with whatever was planned for Bazine. She stifled her grin; she couldn’t wait to see what Connix and Ben had in store for her nemesis. 

“Right, we will go in this order. Andor, Wexley, Erso, Niima, and last but not least, Netal. Andor, come with me, you’re up.”

__________

A nail biting ninety minutes later, Rey was following Ben down a long corridor. She knew better than to talk to him, plus she needed to get into the zone. She was becoming very proficient at counterintelligence, but did not have the experience of Cassian or Jyn. She would need to give it everything.

From what she could tell from the timing between call ups, Snap had taken a long time to complete his task, while the other two had been very quick. Cassian particularly so. Ben stopped suddenly, punching a key pad next to the door.

“It’s an escape room challenge. Good luck, Niima. I will issue your instructions from the control room.”

She nodded and walked through the automatic doors, which slammed shut behind her. She quickly looked around; the escape room was set up like an office suite. A desk was placed in the middle, with what looked like a bug detection kit and a laptop placed on top. There were various furnishings and fittings; an office chair, some ugly paintings and books, and non descript bric-a-brac on the bookshelf. There was also a large cupboard with a master lock; clearly she would need to crack that at some stage. It seemed like a very standard office set up, save for the two-way mirror that ran along one side. What was she supposed to do? 

Ben’s voice boomed over the intercom. “You need to debug the room, crack the master lock, and then find the final clue to get out. Once you think you have it, two thumbs up and give me your answer. Accuracy and speed are what you will be measured by. Three wrong guesses and you are out of the running for a position entirely.”

Rey froze, she hadn’t realized the stakes were so high. Recognizing that it wouldn’t serve her, she quickly pushed her panic down. She looked around the room and saw three possible bug locations. The clock, the bookshelf and behind a picture.

“Understand?”

Rey nodded mutely, her mind going into overdrive. Her visual scan for suspicious wires or power outlets had revealed nothing, so the bug must have a separate battery source. She might need to do multiple scans - there was no way that Ben would make it easy.

The soft hum of the laptop was the only sound that could be heard. She clicked open the surveillance equipment case, drawing up its heavy lid to reveal its contents. Her fingertips made a mental note of the various scanners and tools and devices. She smiled, the tech was perhaps the best part of the job. Plus, of course, missions with her sexy boyfriend. She selected the radio frequency detector first. 

May as well start with a classic. 

She stared at the laptop, remembered lesson one of counter intelligence. She pulled its power source; it was exactly the type of thing that would jam her detector. 

Not bad for three weeks’ training.

Her smugness, however, ebbed away as her sweep progressed. Nothing, not a blip or a beep came from her detector. There was a bug in here somewhere. There had to be. Connix and Ben were just being super clever with it. All the while she could feel him watching her through the glass, silently urging her on. Mentally pleading with her to hurry the fuck up because time was running out. She tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. 

What if the bug didn’t have a transmitter?

On a hunch, she selected the thermal scanner from the cache. While bugs could be undetectable via their waves, there was little they could do about the heat they omitted. Unusually warm objects were often a good indication that there was funny business afoot.

Unfortunately, although she worked over every reachable surface, the bug still eluded her.

What am I missing?

Beads of sweat began to form on her brow. Was the room unusually hot? Was she in danger of spontaneously combusting? She caught sight of the smoke detector above the door. She blinked at it for several moments.

That's an odd spot for a smoke detector. 

From her time working at the hotel, she knew that detectors should always be placed into the far end of the room - not at the entrance. Maz was a stickler for safety. 

It’s not hardwired either. Places like this always have hardwired detectors.

Going in for a closer look, she rolled the chair underneath. Maz would not have approved of Rey standing precariously on wobbly office furniture, but she had little choice. Holding the thermal detector up, the suspect item lit up like a christmas tree on the display. 

Bullseye.

Reaching up she twisted the cap, and as expected, the elusive surveillance equipment fell to the floor with a clatter. With a whoop she jumped from the chair, landing squarely on it. She waited several minutes before scanning it again; just to make sure it was totally neutralised. This time, it ran distinctively colder. The bug was dead. 

First part of the task - check. Now to break the Master Lock.

Moving to the cupboard, she jiggled the combination lock. From the serial number she knew it was a three number code. She could hack the lock’s combination, but that would waste precious time - even though she knew the math. 

An idea came to her, and she quickly grabbed the drill and torch from the kit. Biting her tongue in concentration, she carefully drilled a hole halfway between nine and twelve o’clock, just inside the ring. Placing the torch in her mouth, she shone the light inside the lock, searching for the u-shaped notch on the top disk. Lining the notch with the hole, she saw the first number of the code.

Nineteen.

She found the second disc, and repeated the process.  
Eleven.

Then the same with the third.

Eighty-three. Child’s Play.

She shook her head when she realised what he had set the code to. She hummed Happy Birthday to herself as she opened the cupboard door, and tilted her head at the lone flash drive sitting at the bottom of it. Scratching behind her ear, she picked it up and inspected it. Clearly she was meant to use it on the second laptop, but to what end? With lightning speed she ran to the desk and booted up the laptop; she drummed her nails on the desk as she waited, her lips pulled into a thin line.

Passcode.

The fuck? 

Her heart was thrumming in her chest like one thousand Ben Solos were lining up to eat her out (so pretty fast). On impulse she entered the same code as the master lock. She rolled her eyes as it was accepted. 

“I thought this was meant to be a challenge.” She spoke loudly into the two way mirror opposite. Still it was working out in her favour.

A window box asking her if she wanted to recover deleted documents popped up.

Hell yes I do!

Boxes began to pop up on the screen, scanning all the drives. Document after document began to appear, and she bit her lip. How was she supposed to work out which ones to look through? There were hundreds of file names; any of them could hold the answer she needed. She tapped her fingers lightly on the keyboard. There had to be some logic she could apply. So, if she was looking for deleted files, what kind would it be?

She entered a search: Resistance Recovery Solutions

The search began to scroll through dozens of results, her head moving left to right at rapid speed. This wasn’t it.

She tried again: First Order Solutions

Five results were returned - including one titled First Order Solutions Client List.  
  
She clicked the file to open it, to reveal one sentence written in code. Her last challenge and her favourite - code cracking. She fished a pen and paper from the kit box and went to work, poking her tongue out as she worked through the cryptogram. 

Three minutes later she held both thumbs out and grinned at the glass.

“Answer please,” his voice boomed.

“The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.”

She squealed as the automatic lock released on the door. She had done it; she had not only completed the test - she had nailed it. Perhaps not as well as Cassian, perhaps better than Jyn and definitely better than Snap. His test seemed to take an inordinately long time. Ben poked his head out the control room door as she floated back down the corridor. The look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

Ben grinned. “Not so fast, Niima. Join us in the control room, we are about to put on a show.”

She was confused. “I thought we weren’t allowed to see each others’ results?”

“Oh,” he said easily. “This one is not contributing to anyone’s grade. This one is for entertainment purposes only.”

She grinned. “What do you have planned for our favourite infiltrator?”

“I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Come and see for yourself.”

After a quick check to see that the coast was clear, Rey dove under his arm and into the small control booth. Connix smiled and beckoned for her to take the other empty chair.

“Give me five,” she said as she headed out the door with a small box in her hands.

“What’s she doing?”

“Just resetting the room,” Ben said, leaning in closer. He spun the chair around so she faced him. “You were sensational.” he growled, his hands resting on each chair arm.

She smiled up at him like the cat who caught the canary. “What’s my prize?”

He came closer, his mouth hovering just above hers.

“I’m your prize,” he whispered. His mouth was soft on hers, and she felt immediately dizzy. Threading her arms around his neck to steady herself, she returned his affection with equal ardour. It felt good to run her hands along his shoulders as he lifted a hand to cup her cheek.

They jumped apart as the door handle rattled. Connix took one look at them and rolled her eyes. 

“Knock it off.” she said, flopping into her chair. “The room is ready. Should we let in the mark?” She asked.

“Punch it, Connix,” Ben replied.

Bazine strode into the escape room, resplendent in her black catsuit. Rey thought she heard Connix mutter something about Sean Connery and Entrapment, but she didn’t pay too much attention; she just wanted to watch Bazine fall flat on her face.

“You need to debug the room, crack the code to get into the cupboard, read the note and give the correct answer.” Ben said flatly.

Bazine nodded her understanding, missing his tone. She went straight for the debugging equipment, bypassing the laptop entirely. Bazine spent several minutes adjusting the frequency and banging the equipment with her hand until she realised the laptop was switched on.

“Jammer,” Ben explained.

“I know.” Rey smirked. ”Rookie mistake, must have been her previous trainer.” Ben grinned back.

It turned out that Bazine’s bug was not so cleverly hidden - she easily picked it up behind one of the ugly paintings. She crowed, giving herself a quick fist pump. Rey snorted softly; her bug had been much harder to find. She shifted impatiently; this was taking forever.

“All good things come to those who wait,” Ben murmured against her ear. It soothed her a little.

Bazine confidently strode to the cupboard, using the same drill technique Rey had to break the lock. She flung the doors open with a flourish, freezing as soon as she saw her luggage, cell and burner phone.

“What the…” she picked up the envelope resting on top of the little collection. “Why is my stuff here?” Rey detected a faint note of hysteria in her voice.

Good.

Ben pressed the intercom. “Please read.”

Rey could have sworn Bazine’s hands were shaking. Several moments passed in silence as she read the note.

Ben hit the intercom again. “Your choice… traitor?”

Ouch.

“A cab,” Bazine squeaked, then cleared her throat. “Let me out of here now.”

Connix switched the mirror to two way, and the trio smiled and waved. The look of unbridled rage when Bazine spotted Rey behind the glass was priceless. 

Surprise!

Ben pointed to Rey and mouthed, “She busted your two-faced butt.”

“Congratulations!” Connix purred over the microphone. “That was the correct answer. Now get the fuck out of my training facility.” She punched the code to unlock the doors to the escape room, while Bazine hurriedly gathered her things and began to head for the door.

Ben couldn't resist a parting shot.

“Give my regards to Hux, although he might not return your call.” Ben had his snark game well and truly locked and loaded. Bazine stopped for a moment, and glared at the group. She made an uncharitable gesture with her middle finger and then stalked out the door.

Connix erupted into peals of laughter and slapped Ben on the back. “Masterful; what a team we make.”

“What was the question?” Rey was hanging on the edge of her seat for the answer. She felt warm and fuzzy at Connix calling her part of the team. She felt it already, that she was a part of Resistance and that a life of untold adventure awaited her. She longed for it almost more than anything. Almost.

“I asked if she wanted Hux to collect her, or for us to call her a cab,” he shrugged.

Rey snickered; Bazine would have been waiting a long time for Hux.

“That parting gesture was quite unprofessional, don’t you think?” Connix was still chortling. “Could you imagine if she did that to Leia?”

Ben responded without taking a breath. 

“Leia would give it right back to her.”

Rey caught the warmth in his voice. He’s spent most of the last three weeks pooping his pants over the idea of her arriving… and now he talks about her with affection?

“Wait till she checks her message history on her main phone and sees the photo I sent to Hux. I believe it was a similar gesture - only I smiled for the camera.”

Rey laughed despite her musings; she would pay good money to see that.

It suddenly hit her like a tonne of bricks. “Final four,” Rey said softly.

“Final three.”

Rey did an immediate double take. “Three? What do you mean?”

“Snap didn’t make it. I had high hopes for him. But he turned out to be a nerf herder. I need to make sure both of them are off the grounds. You were amazing.” Her eyes closed dreamily as he kissed her goodbye. She sighed as he walked out the door.

Connix fixed Rey with her steely gaze. “Now it’s down to you, Erso and Andor. One of you is the front runner, and two of you still need to complete Heartbreak Hill. Of course, only one of you is sticking her tongue down Solo’s throat, which is a deal breaker if you get caught. You’re my pick Rey, but if Luke or Leia get a whiff of favouritism, it's all over. Ben has had to work long and hard to get where he is; every choice, every step has been harder for him than anyone else. He has to prove himself twice over to keep his place. I won’t warn either of you again.” 

Rey went to ask why, but Connix cut her off with a waggle of her finger. Why was it she could notice so much, but in so many ways Ben was still a mystery to her? She had such a blind spot when it came to romantic partners. She would heed the warning though. It was so easy to get caught up in her feelings, but if she and Ben did not get a grip they were nothing but a liability to each other and to Resistance. She wanted to take it to the limit and back again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I started writing for the smut but then unexpectedly found myself just as interested in hijinks, romps and banter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's interview with Luke and Leia reveals a whole lot more than she bargained for.

This was it, her last chance to make the grade. Part of her wanted to chide herself for being distracted by Ben and finding out what the heck Bazine was up to. Really, she should have passed the obstacle course within the first week, but there was little she could do about it now.

She was lined up with Cassian and Jyn (who was still gunning for Ben’s record), and Ben with his whistle pursed between his plush lips. From his intense gaze boring into her, she could feel him willing her to do what she needed to do; to push herself beyond her limits and claim her rightful place next to him. 

Well under him. 

Under him most of the time and especially on weekends.

Focus.

The sound of the whistle pierced the air and there was no time left for musings. There was a job to be done.

Oof.

The air was rudely pushed from her lungs as she hit the dirt. Crawling on her belly, she began to work her way under 50 feet of barbed wire. Mud and grit splashed up into her mouth; unperturbed she spat it out. The rocks that lay just underneath the mud cruelly stabbed at her chest and stomach. It was not the hardest obstacle, but it was certainly the most tedious as she rocked from side to side like a rolling pin, each roll bringing her closer to her target.

Jyn was usually five Ben Solo lengths ahead by this stage, but looking up Rey noticed at most she was only three. It felt like she was making good time, really it did, but the urge to stop rocking and start crawling was overwhelming. But that was how people got stuck and she didn’t have time to waste. Every second counted. All she needed was a nine at the front of her time. Not to beat the record, not to beat Ben’s time, not to beat Jyn.

Just to beat the clock.

The end of the wire was getting closer and closer; she grunted in satisfaction. 

Jyn was already making her way to the monkey bars, so Rey rocked faster. She had to keep up with Jyn if she wanted to make time. Having reached the end of the wire she leapt up to start running. Suddenly she was stopped in her tracks, and crashed to the ground. Cassian overtook her. 

No!

Looking back, she saw her leggings were snagged on the wire. With an almighty scream she yanked roughly at her pants, not caring that she might expose herself. Fuck that - she was playing for keeps.

Her pants gave way with a tearing sound and she scrambled to her feet, launching herself with a yell towards the bars. Ben was following on the outside of the course, timer in hand, bellowing at her to get a freaking move on. Now! Her time was paying for her miscalculation; from his yelling Rey sensed she was in danger of failure. 

With a war cry she launched herself at the monkey bars. Ignoring the familiar burn spreading across her biceps and shoulders she swung from rung to rung; she had to maintain her momentum, if she stopped to focus on her pain she would fall and all would be lost. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Her grip strength had improved immeasurably (she hoped to give Ben a demonstration at a later date), but by swinging her legs forward as if riding a bike she was able to propel herself forward. The first time she attempted the course she had wasted far too much energy by swinging side to side, learning the hard way as she fell into the mud below.

Not this time monkey bars. 

Cassian was just ahead, with Jyn already at the base of the climbing wall. With one final push Rey reached the ledge on the other side. Her relief was short lived as her foot slipped and she quickly reached up to grip the bars again. Her fingers clenched around the cool metal for dear life, shifting her shoulders up to get better purchase. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she thought she heard Ben cry out, but there was no mental bandwidth to process it. Every part of her was focussed on the finish line. She swung her legs again, this time landing square on the centre of the ledge.

She definitely heard Ben’s whoop, but resisted the urge to look at him. Scrambling down to the ground she narrowed her eyes as she looked at the wall. Cassian was disappearing over the wall by this stage, barring disaster he would make it. Her chest heaved with exertion, her lungs burned as if consumed by flames. Could she do it? 

“Eight minutes, thirty-nine seconds!” Ben shrieked as he sprinted to the finish line to clock; she had never heard such urgency and panic in his voice before.

Rey took a deep breath and took a running leap at the final obstacle. Splinters pierced her palm as she grabbed onto the ledge at the top. There would be time later for first aid and for Ben to kiss her boo boos better. She bellowed as she swung her legs skyward, hooking her heel over the top, then pulling herself up top. Staying low she slithered down the other side and spun around.

In the distance she could see Cassian only a few hundred yards from the finish line, with a panting Jyn patiently waiting to hear her time.

“Come on Rey, nine twenty!” Ben’s voice echoed down the track.

“You can do it!” Jyn yelled. Cassian staggered across the finish line, then collapsed. 

Gathering every last ounce of will and determination, she sprinted. Her legs felt as if made of jelly but she pushed through. There would be the opportunity to recuperate later, all she had was now. She wanted to cry out but her voice caught in her throat.

“Nine thirty!”

Two hundred yards away.

“Nine forty-five!”

One hundred.

She realised that unless she did something, she wasn’t going to make it. That job was hers; she was going to beat this course if it killed her.

“Fuck! Nine fifty five.”

She pushed herself with a might she did not know she possessed, skidding across the finish line, collapsing face down in the dirt. Had she made it? Was she dead? Were those victory sounds Ben was making, or ones of bitter disappointment?

A low groan escaped her as she rolled over to find out her fate.

“Nine fifty eight!”

Overcome, she threw her hands over her face, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks. A happy slightly manic strangled laugh bubbled up within her. Her eyes were still closed when she felt cool water pressed to her lips, and she greedily sucked at the bottle.

Slowly she opened her eyes, to see Ben grinning down at her.

“Well done Niima,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the sides. His smile took up his entire face.

She was still not quite ready to speak, her chest still heaving from exertion.

“Take your time, though not too long. Connix has some people we want you to meet.”

Shit, that could only mean one thing. Could she not have five minutes reprieve before another challenge was lobbed at her like a grenade?

Ten minutes later, a still very wobbly Rey walked into the training complex. Connix smiled as she turned and saw the group. 

“Everyone, I would like you to meet our Directors, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.”

Rey’s eyes went immediately to the couple she was standing with. The man was older and scruffier than she had expected for a Director. He was taller than her, but not as tall as Ben. He smiled thinly in Rey’s direction. 

The woman however was a different matter. She was diminutive, but seemed to have enough charisma to fill the entire room. Smiling, Leia took a step towards her, extending her hand. Rey looked down and quickly wiped her own muddy mitt on her already very muddy shorts. It did little to improve the situation, and she froze on the spot. Leia chortled and stuck her hand a little closer, and Rey realised the other woman didn’t care about her disheveled appearance. Rey decided she was going to like Leia, and grinning she accepted the gesture. 

There was something surprisingly familiar in the other woman’s grip and smile, but Rey couldn’t quite place it. In addition, the two of them only had one head each, as opposed to the three she had been expecting. What was it that made Ben so nervous? Something didn’t sit right, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“I’ve heard good things about you,” Leia said.

Rey felt all warm and glowing inside. “From Ben?” she asked hopefully, and then mentally kicked herself up her own arse for blowing it five seconds in.

Leia’s brow furrowed. “From all the instructors, but yes from Ben. I’m looking forward to your interview, Rey. This is my brother, Luke.”

The older man offered his hand. “Good to meet you, Niima. Nice to hear you and Andor finally made the course, and not before time either.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rey mumbled but fought to keep her smile plastered across her face. She hadn’t realised this was a family affair. Looking from one to the other she could see the resemblance, although it was more their demeanor and the way they carried themselves that belied their connection. Luke’s grip was much the same as his sister’s. Familiar yet not.

As their greeting broke, he turned to address all three recruits.

“Well, we need to catch up with Solo and the rest of the team. Hit the showers people, and get ready for your interviews this afternoon. You are going to need it.” His sardonic tone was apparently standard issue for management at Resistance Recovery Solutions.

She gulped at her next challenge and went to prepare herself.

________

“Why do the irons in these places always suck,” Rey muttered to herself. She had pressed her white shirt and black pants as well as she could, but it still was not quite as polished as she wanted it to be. She smoothed the wrinkles over her thighs again, but it did little to improve her appearance.

She didn’t feel right either. Her nerves were shot even worse than on the obstacle course from that morning, especially after she had met the Directors caked in mud, gasping for breath and an assortment of twigs artfully arranged in her hair. She wanted to make a better, more capable impression the second time around. 

Connix had instructed her to sit in the corridor and wait to be called in; it was taking forever. 

Just breathe, you got this.

Jyn had been in there an awfully long time. As she sat cross legged, Rey’s foot jiggled in the air. Finally the door opened and a smiling Jyn walked out, accompanied by an equally smiling Connix. 

“Once again, thank you for the opportunity.” Jyn extended her hand and Connix gave it a firm pump.

“Pleasure was ours.” Connix turned to Rey. “Niima, just give us ten and we will be with you.”

Rey nodded and the door was closed again, leaving Jyn and herself alone.

“How was it?”

Jyn shrugged. “It was fine, Skywalker is grumpy, Organa is crafty and Solo and Connix were as expected. Good luck! I need to get out of these clothes and go for a run after all that.”

“Thanks.” Rey tried to sound upbeat and confident, but the best she could manage was a thin smile.

“Let’s keep in touch, yes?” Jyn asked.

Rey nodded and smiled. “Enjoy your run.”

She suddenly remembered something.

“Jyn,” she called out. “Did you beat his time?”

Jyn’s snort could be heard down the corridor.

“Nope!”

Ten minutes later, Connix beckoned Rey to join the panel. As entered she saw Luke and Leia behind a long table. Leia was flanked by Ben, and Luke by Connix. It seemed prudent to avoid looking at Ben at all costs, either in case she pleaded for help or she made inadvertent heart eyes at him.

As she made her way to the lone chair in front of them, she felt like she was under a hot spotlight. She took her seat, making sure to sit up straight to appear engaged and alert. There was a large bound book resting on the table in front of Leia, but Rey couldn’t work out what it was. Was it a manual she should have read? 

Leia smiled. “This is really our opportunity to get to know you, to find out what makes you tick. Your results speak for themselves, but it takes more than fancy footwork and a clever mind to be a successful agent. We need to be able to trust you with our clientele and with our business.” 

Leia patted the book beside her and continued. “Luke and I are very curious to learn more about how you came across Solo’s attention. Legal certainly raised an eyebrow or two when asked to draw this up. It was a most unusual introduction to the company, don’t you think?”

Rey nodded quickly, at the same time her stomach began to tie itself in knots. It was her contract from the Ashanti necklace job. The one that brought her and Ben together. She very much hoped that Leia would not go too far down this line of questioning; she had no idea how she could truthfully respond while still protecting her relationship with Ben. Evasiveness would only raise more questions. 

“Yes,” Rey gulped. “It was a very strange situation, but Solo made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Oh shit.

Rey smiled as she attempted to remain poised and calm. “The sense of adventure and intrigue was enthralling. I had a taste of what life could be like with Resistance and I wanted more.”

Also with Ben, but please don’t ask that question.

“A taste of adventure is all very well,” Luke interjected. “But this job is not for adrenaline junkies.”

Her stomach twisted; she was losing his confidence and it was only the beginning of her interview. She had to reel him back. “Yes sir, I agree. It is the commitment to the cause, that is the most important thing. To do what the client requires of us.”

Luke leaned across the table. “Tell me, just what is that?”

“To make things right. To return things to their rightful balance. So for the client it was the return of the necklace without it being made public. For other clients it might be the return of a family heirloom or a pet. Whatever they require.”

Luke sat back a little; he seemed to be mildly impressed with her answer but there was still more work to do.

Leia took over from her brother, “I wanted to ask you about the specific clause that had legal in such a buzz. Bear with me while I find it.” 

Rey cocked her head ever so slightly as she watched Leia thumb through the contract she was referring to (it could only be one clause Leia was referring to - the one Rey was intimately familiar with). The other woman was chewing the inside of her cheek. Rey looked from Leia to Ben, and then back to Leia again. Chewing the inside of cheeks was a common tic, but not that common. She watched Leia’s mannerisms as she spoke, there was something familiar once again. It was going to drive her batty until she worked it out.

Ben cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. Why was he uncomfortable? He wasn’t the one under the spotlight.

“Ah, here is it. Clause G, Subpart A.” Leia gave a little wiggle to settle herself back into her seat. “What was your initial reaction when Ben proposed this arrangement to you?”

“Shock,” Rey admitted ruefully. “Disbelief.. Skepticism. It wasn’t anything I had even entertained before, behaving like that for money. But I was desperate, and Solo saw that.”

“Desperate?” Luke cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, I was in debt to my boss,” Rey stammered. “The hotel was likely to shut down because of me.” She felt her conviction return. “Of course I was nervous and scared, but opportunities like that rarely land in my lap. It just so happened that I found my talent and passion along the way.”

Of course, she meant both Ben and the job, but they didn’t need to know that. 

“So you were happy to do whatever it took, including kissing Ben… canoodling and declarations of undying affection? It didn’t phase you?”

“No,” Rey shook her head. “He was always a gentleman and if that’s what was needed that’s what I did. I even let him taste my pie.”

Luke raised an eyebrow; Ben made a choking sound. Connix snorted.

“I like my food,” she explained. “Plus he insisted.”

“So, Rey,” Leia smiled, leaning forward. “It seems you managed to thwart the second in command Nerfherder at First Order not once, but twice. How did you do it?”

Nerfherder? Why was that familiar?

Rey responded slowly, her mind operating at two speeds - one answering the question and the other just about to grasp whatever it was that was bothering her about Leia. “Working in the hotel taught me two things, how to anticipate what people needed before they asked, but also how people behave when they don’t think anyone is looking. I was often treated as invisible by guests; I saw a side to humanity that people rarely do. Plus, I find that when I follow my intuition, I’m rarely led astray.”

She wished her intuition would help her out a little more at that moment.

“Yes,” the other woman nodded. “Intuition is a powerful thing in this business - one borne from experience matched with smarts. Speaking of smarts, well done on the escape room.”

Rey beamed. “That was fun, this is what I am here to do. Crack codes, return stolen diamonds and solve mysteries. I can’t think of a better way to do it than with Resistance.”

“It’s thrilling, that's for sure. It’s long weeks away from home. You don’t have people that will miss you?”

Rey avoided Ben’s stare. She had to be truthful, she couldn’t hide her passion and commitment. “In the short time I have been here, the Resistance team.. Connix, Solo, have begun to feel like my family. Erso too. I feel like I belong here, with you all.” She felt like an idiot admitting it, but she would rather give it her all than hide behind half measures.

Leia smiled and nodded. “We are very much family here. When you need people to have your back out in the field, the bond between you makes all the difference.” 

Rey inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, she had given a truthful yet appropriate answer. 

Luke was not so convinced. Stroking his beard, he leaned back in his chair. “So, what are your thoughts about working within a family operation? Any concerns? Sometimes that gets people a little excited, accusations of nepotism and all that jazz.” Luke smirked as he talked; he was a grump like Jyn had said. At the same time, she liked it, it meant he didn’t pull his punches and said what was on his mind.

She remembered Maz’s cousin that spent one summer working at the hotel. Just the one summer, never to return after it was clear that there was no free ride. She was confused though, why should she care what happened between Luke and Leia - how they chose to run the things was their concern.

“I worked in a family business for a long time. In my experience family can often get a harder time of it, the expectations are higher.” 

An idea began to weave its way into her consciousness, only to be quickly pushed away. It was a stretch even for her own active imagination.

“You’re right, there,” Luke chuckled. “In this organisation there are no favours for bloodline. In fact, I think if you asked young Solo here, he would tell you it was more a millstone around his neck.”

Ben’s face was suddenly stricken with panic, and he began to work his cheek in earnest. Rey felt the colour drain from her cheek. Ben… Leia and Luke were family? But what kind of family? Her heart began to hammer in her chest, she was certain it was echoing around the room for all to hear. Her throat was suddenly dry and constricted, so she clutched her water and took a long gulp. 

She had to keep it together, she had to. The realisation that had just dawned on her was too much, too overwhelming. If what she suspected was true, then Ben had concealed something very big from her… and Leia was his…

Oh God.

No, she had to remain calm under pressure. Just get through the interview and collapse into a heap later. Plus, shirtfront Ben to ask him what the hell he was playing at.

Just breathe.

Connix cleared her throat. “Yes Ben, why don’t you share about what that is like? So Rey understands.”

He rubbed his neck before responding. “Thank you Connix.” His jaw was clenched in tension. “But I am sure that could be addressed at another time.”

Rey’s eyes flashed in annoyance, he wasn’t going to get away with that answer. She would deal with him later, but for now she had to keep her cool. “I would be very interested to hear things from your perspective. But as you say, some other time.” She used her most winning smile, while widening her eyes.

He stared at her, and she noticed his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

Good.

Leia patted her son’s hand gently. “It’s tough, but it’s made you one of the best operatives out there.”

“Thank you,” he muttered. Rey could see the color rise in his cheeks. 

Oh... that’s rather sweet.

“Sorry to intrude on the mother/son moment, but on that note,” Luke interjected, “I think we are done. Does anyone have any further questions, or can we end the suffering?”

The panel shook their heads and Connix stood to see Rey out. Rey’s mind was a tumble of thoughts as she walked; she tried to make sense of it all. She almost forgot her manners when they reached the door. Gathering herself she turned and extended her hand.

“Thank you, Connix,” she smiled.

Connix grinned in return as she shook. “You did really well. You should be proud - and it’s Kaydel. Good luck Rey. We will be making the announcements shortly. Go pack your things.”

The realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks. She had finished the training and completed all her assignments. It was over, and there was nothing more she could do except wait to see if she had done enough.

In the meantime, there was the small matter of Ben and the nature of his relationship with the Directors. They needed to have a real long, real good talk about that one - and he better make it good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naughty Ben... or did he have a good reason? Rey seems pretty mad though.
> 
> If you like this story, guess what, its part of a series. The final instalment is called "Take me with you", I'm taking the team to the French Riviera, where someone from Ben's past will come back to haunt him.
> 
> So be sure to subscribe to this story, because I will post an update in here when I start post (which will be soon)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben gets to explaining himself, Rey finds out if her future involves Resistance Recovery Solutions and well… they make up for lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to spacey gracie for monitoring my commas, teaching me the value of a semi colon and for being my rock through all this craziness.

As Connix pulled up to the station, to Rey it felt like years ago that she had arrived from London; green, scared, daunted by Bazine and consumed with worry that her relationship with Ben was doomed. Now, she was leaving, experienced, confident, having sent Bazine back to where she came from, and best of all - completely secure in Ben’s adoration of her, and that only positive things lay ahead for them.

Hopefully with her by his side at Resistance Recovery Solutions.

As long as he had a good explanation for not telling her that Leia was his freaking  _ mother _ . 

She was pretty pissed about that. Sure, she had never actually _ asked _ him about his family in the time they had been together. Not having grown up with a family herself, she didn’t really know the etiquette and she didn’t want to pry. He had never really asked her about her past either, although he knew the basic gist. 

He had known that she had no idea who her parents were, and that her foster parents were generally okay people, but that it was Finn who had really been her family. Like Rose and Maz were for her now.

She had known Ben’s mother was a businesswoman living in America, and that he was fond of her. He was an only child. His father had been largely absent.

The part about working for his mother, he had surreptitiously omitted.

She sighed; it seemed she really did have a blind spot when it came to the men she loved. She resolved that if he was able to explain himself well enough that she would  _ probably _ forgive him, and then make sure she asked as many questions as she was able to think of. There could be no more secrets between them.

Connix smiled as she parked the car, then leaned over into the back seat. 

“I have some things for you,” she muttered as she rummaged through her bag. “Ah, here they are.”

As Connix twisted back to face her, Rey looked down to see she held her phone - and a battery charger. 

“Ben wanted you to have this,” Connix said, waving the charger. “He thought perhaps you should juice up your phone again on the journey home.” All of a sudden Connix smirked. “Probably to send dick pics to you I imagine, so that you forgive him for the Leia thing.”

Rey snorted, it would take more than dick pics to get Ben over the line.

_ Sure, Rey, just keep telling yourself that. _

Connix’s expression softened. “Really though, hear him out.”

Rey’s eyes narrowed; she wasn’t interested in being told what to do. She decided to ignore the comment as she got out of the car. 

“Thanks for the lift!” She said breezily.

Connix leaned across the passenger seat to look up at her.

“Thanks for helping me hand Bazine’s butt to her in a sling!”

Rey chortled as she walked to the platform.

_______

Twenty minutes later her phone finally had enough charge to switch on. The countryside sped past, but she wasn’t paying attention. What was it that Ben wanted her to see? As her phone came to life, message after message began to ping on her phone. It was a little overwhelming; it seemed Ben had been very busy over the past few weeks.

The other passengers glared at her and she sunk into her seat a little, although she couldn’t help but giggle.

One hundred and forty-two new messages? 

_ That’s a lot of messages. _

Another ping rang out.

_ One unsent message? _

_ I’m sorry I made you think I wanted an unfair advantage. I know this opportunity means everything to the both of us. You have made me the happiest I have ever been. You are my world. _

Her heart sank as she read the heartfelt message she had sent to Ben all those weeks ago. 

He had been speaking the truth; it had never arrived at its destination. Thank God he had sought her out, or her time at the training academy would have been infinitely more painful. 

_ Rey, I’m an idiot. Can we please talk? _

_ Did you get my message? Connix probably has your phone by now. If we could just talk everything would be ok. _

_ Rey, it’s killing me not to be able to express my thoughts to you. So I’m going to share it with you here. First, your ass looks great in those leggings. How the fuck am I supposed to concentrate. _

_ Dammit woman, I have a JOB to do here. Quit being so sexy, and smart, and wonderful, and sassy.  _

Her heart skipped a beat reading the next one.

_ P.S. never stop being sassy.  _

_ I wanted so badly to hold you on the track today. Fuck Connix. _

_ Not really, she is awesome. _

_ I’m going to frisk your brains out the moment I get you alone. _

_ I meant that last one. _

_ I miss you. _

_ I can’t wait till we are alone and I can say all the things I want to say to you. _

_ Jesus Niima, what the hell is happening with you? If you don’t make it, I don’t know what I’ll do. _

She grimaced, it was the day she was so distracted by Bazine that her course time took a nosedive.

_ The way you poke out your tongue when you are concentrating is delightful. _

That one made her smile. 

A warm glow spread across her chest as she kept on reading. Maybe he hadn’t said the words, but she felt loved. Cherished. Like she belonged to him and he to her. One message made her snort, then guiltily look around to see if anyone had noticed.

_ I really need to wash my face and dick but I just don’t want to. I just want to keep the scent of you with me. _

_ You are a star Rey Niima, don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. _

_ I swear Niima, I am going to hold you for ten days straight after this is all finished. _

_ Shit, that went badly. I didn’t mean for you to find out like that. Just hear me out. _

_ Please. _

__________

She made sure to still appear aggrieved as she buckled her seatbelt, although her stomach was full of butterflies at the sight of him. The whites of his knuckles stood out against the dark leather of the steering wheel. 

“Can I get that explanation now?”

He looked at her, his mouth pulled taut. “Can I get us home first?”

_ Home. _

“Okay, then talk,” she said firmly.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Did you, er, charge your phone?” 

The involuntary smile that spread across her face was all the response he needed, and he grinned in return. 

“You were chatty,” she smirked, then giggled.

“You liked my messages?” He looked so lost and small that she couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer. Releasing the buckle from her seatbelt, she threw her arms around him and planted a very large, very loud kiss on his pouting lips.

“I  _ loved _ your messages, now take me home.”

_________

It had been weeks since she had visited his town home; private bathrooms, a gigantic king size bed and a Ben Solo all to herself. The low groan of pleasure that rumbled from her throat was perhaps a little too loud based on the look he threw at her. She sniffed, he had no business giving her attitude, not from where she sat anyway. 

His keys fell to the hall table with a clatter, and she followed him into the lounge. Settling on the sofa, he patted the space beside him; she shook her head. Joining him would only lead to one thing, and she had to hear his explanation first.

Crossing her arms to let him know exactly how much trouble he should consider himself in, she began to speak. 

“So Leia is your mother, then. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, you never asked,” came the slightly churlish rebuttal.

“Really?” Her foot began to tap and she tightened the cross of her arms.

Ben puffed out his cheeks and slowly exhaled. 

“I do owe you an explanation; I know you are mad and I understand, but just hear me out.” 

He ignored her snort of derision and continued.

“I didn’t know how to tell you without spooking you. After people find out that Leia is my mother, things tend to get weird. I know what they are thinking -  _ nepotism _ .”

His jaw tightened and he stared at an unseen spot on the floor. 

“I hear it in the halls in New York, I see it in their eyes.” 

Her foot stilled and her shoulders relaxed just a bit.

“This was my chance for a fresh start, a clean slate. No-one but Connix and Ackbar knew. Each recruit looked at me with respect, and I  _ liked _ it. I couldn’t bear the thought of you thinking less of me, thinking that I was a fraud.”

“Ben!” she implored. ”How could you even think that? Why didn’t you trust me?” She shook her head as she spoke.

He leaned towards her, his face looking up to her beseechingly. 

“I wanted to be anonymous for just a bit longer. I  _ do _ trust you, Rey, but for once I was free from the legacy of my family. I was just Ben Solo, on my own terms. It was a freedom I had never known.”

Mute, she stared at him; she hadn’t grown up with a family, with a legacy. Everything she had she’d earned on her own merit and on her own terms. She could succeed or fail and not many people would pay any attention. She was a nobody. As much as she was fuming that he had kept something so important from her, she could see his point. She wasn’t sure what was worse - to be invisible, or to be under constant scrutiny and the spotlight?

She screwed up her mouth, even though she understood, she was different with him, surely?

“You still should have told me though. I wouldn’t think any less of you - I couldn’t. I think the entire universe revolves around you!” 

A grin tugged at his mouth as he tilted his head toward her.

“You would have felt comfortable if you had known Leia was my mother?”

She blinked slowly. 

“Well?” He cocked a devilish brow.

“I guess not,” she mumbled.

His shoulders visibly dropped in relief. 

“ _ Thank you _ .”

“So do you want to tell your mother about me?” She winced at her own slightly petulant tone.

His eyes grew wide with indignation.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Rey, I want to scream that you are mine from the top of Big Ben with a megaphone. I will one day, watch me.” His mouth set in a firm line; she believed him.

“I’m going to hold you to that.” she said with a wry smile.

“So are we good?”

“Almost,” she pouted. “My final interview really was the worst time to find out.”

“Yeah,” he sighed as he rubbed his neck. “That part wasn’t great. Sorry about that. You still nailed it though”

She sensed a shift in him, an opening. Perhaps now was the time to ask the question she desperately wanted to, and to take back some semblance of upper hand. She had expected grovelling and heartfelt apologies but he hadn’t given her any of those things. From his explanation, it didn’t really seem necessary in the end. She understood.

“Well, there is one way you can make this up to me,” she purred.

He cocked his head to the other side. “There is nothing for me to atone for. But I’m listening.”

“Tell me,” she insisted. “Did I make it?”

He shook his head emphatically. “You have to wait for the official message. Just like the others.”

She began to tap her feet again in frustration. 

“I demand you tell me.”

“Demand away, buttercup,” he said, outstretching his arms in a shrug. “You can’t break me. I am a man of principles and cannot be seduced to the dark side.”

_ That sounds like a challenge. _

She kicked off her sneakers and began to walk towards him. She added in a slight sway to her hips for good measure. He sank back into the sofa, his fingers digging into his thighs.

“You wouldn’t,” he said gruffly; she detected hesitation.

“Wouldn’t I?” She pulled her t-shirt over her head, standing before him in her bra and shorts. He stared hungrily at her chest before quickly looking away. 

“Do your best,” he said nonchalantly. “It won’t work, but I’m enjoying the show.”

She leaned forward and placed her hand on his chest; she could feel his heart thrumming beneath her palm. 

“Awfully fast for someone claiming not to be affected,” she noted with a soft smile. She leant in to nuzzle his neck, placing soft kisses as she straddled him. 

He shuddered at her touch and grabbed her backside. Smiling to herself, she recognised the automatic involuntary reaction. He never could keep his hands off her arse. She added a slow grind for good measure and his low groan and shallow breathing was her reward.

“Tell me, my love,” she breathed into his skin between kisses. 

His only response was a soft grunt; he was turning into putty in her hands. The thing was, she was beginning to get distracted herself. Suddenly, the need to know the answer started to feel a little less urgent. He smelt and tasted so good, his body hard and warm under her fingertips, his hands beginning to knead and caress her. Was he turning the tables on her? She couldn’t tell, and she really didn’t care.

Moving to face him again, she smoothed his hair back from his face, tracing the moles across his cheek. He sighed and closed his eyes; she realised these moments were to be grasped with both hands. She discarded her original intention.

“Ben,” she whispered. “I love you.”

His eyes flew open, wide with shock and happiness. He broke into a huge grin, crushing her into his arms, and she squealed as the breath was squeezed out of her.

“Ben!” she rasped, and he quickly loosened his grip.

“Sorry, I just…. I love you too, Rey. You are everything to me, everything I could have wanted. I wanted to tell you how I felt all those weeks ago at the station, but I felt so awkward.”

_ He loves me. _

She felt tears prick at her eyes. “I wanted to tell you then, too.” 

She cupped his face as they laughed together; suddenly, the job didn’t seem so important anymore. She leant in to kiss him, and he crushed her to his chest. There was an urgency that wasn’t there before; she was alive and giddy with happiness. His lips were hungry against hers, tasting her, pleading for more. Blinded with lust she began to paw at his shirt, releasing the buttons so she could have him skin to skin.

Moaning into his mouth, she was suddenly jolted by a vibration against her butt.

Her phone. 

He was nipping at her neck by now, running his hands over the cups of her bra, his thumbs teasing her nipples. She was torn, wanting to know the outcome but not wanting to stop where they were headed.

“You should really check that out,” he muttered against her décolletage, his hands working the clasp of her bra. The garment suddenly fell from her body, and he greedily took a nipple into his mouth.

“You need to stop doing this then,” she rasped, feeling as his hands moved up her thighs. The tension at her core was almost unbearable; she ached for him. Releasing her nipple with a pop, he dipped his hand into the pocket of her shorts to grab her phone and hand it to her. She sat back and stared at it, then looked back to him. 

_ Congratulations, you have been successful in your job application with Resistance Recovery Solutions. Welcome to the team. _

Her hands shook as she read the message several times; she had made it. 

“Well?” He grinned.

She looked at him, her eyes as round as saucers. 

“I did it.”

“Yes, you did.”

“I’m joining the team.”

“Yes, you are.”

“You’re my boss.”

“I intend on sexually harassing you every opportunity that I get.”

“I insist,” she nodded. “But not when we need to keep our minds on the job.”

Silence hung between them for several heartbeats until they both erupted into peals of laughter. As if that was ever going to happen.

“So will the harassment extend to the other successful candidate?”

“Erso is not my type,” Ben said cheekily. “You are.” 

“Oh goody, I like her,” Rey said happily. 

With a growl he kissed her long and deep again, before breaking to look at her.

“Can I just say one thing?”

She nodded.

He puffed out his cheeks, and raked his fingers through his hair.

“Thank  _ God _ for that text because I was totally about to break.” 

She playfully swatted him with a pillow. “I knew it.”

He suddenly dove at her, pinning her hands above her head as he lay between her legs.

“How dare you treat your superior in such a manner,” he growled. She bit her lip as she looked up at him through her lashes. 

“Do I need to be reeducated?”

His eyes travelled down her body and then back up to her face.

“I’m going to reeducate your fucking brains out.”

She slid her legs up his strong thighs and he settled heavy on top of her. The lustful look on his face was suddenly replaced with a more gentle, loving one.

“Well, actually, I just want to worship you from head to toe. If that’s okay?”

She nodded; it was very, _ very _ okay.

“Let’s wash away our travels.”

________

They just made it to the shower, where Ben used his strong hands to stroke and caress every inch on her body, holding her skin to skin. Resting her head on his warm hard chest, she sighed into the moment. Everything was perfect. 

Her mood turned decidedly more carnal as he gently pushed her against the wall. 

“I’m going to take such good care of you,” he spoke softly.

All she could do was whisper. “Yes.”

She shuddered as he fell to his knees, gently placing her legs on his shoulders so he could slowly suck and kiss her. He hissed as he came into contact with her wet heat. The tiles gave her no purchase, so she clutched fistfuls of his hair while she ground against his mouth. His eyes never left her face as he devoured her.

She groaned as she clenched around his fingers; the pressure building inside her was so intense it was like she was being torn apart. Weeks of pent up frustration were about to be released, carried along with the euphoria that she had everything she ever needed.

A career, adventure, and the man of her dreams by her side and between her legs.

“I want to hear you scream,” he moaned against her burning hot skin. 

She obliged as she erupted, molten lava washing from deep within her and spreading throughout her body. Her cries echoed around them as she came. He smiled against her as she came down from her cloud.

She tasted herself on his lips as he carried her to the bedroom. Weeks of stupid camp beds melted away as she sank deep into the pillow top mattress as his body covered hers; his mouth never breaking contact for a moment. He was rock hard against her thigh and she whimpered as she tried to anchor him within her. A low chuckle escaped his throat as he realised her intent. She needed him so badly it hurt.

His hair flopped adorably into his eyes as he smiled down at her. There was something different this time; before she had felt his care and attention - and of course his passion. Now she felt his love - their love. It thrummed between them, a powerful connection that excluded all others. It was like light burst through her and into him.

She shuddered as he rubbed his length between her legs. Her body was no longer under her control as she clamped her thighs to his hips, angling him so he could slide into her in one move. Her body tensed and her breath was stolen as the most exquisite sensation tore through her. 

“It’s a lot, isn’t it?” he gasped, his body twitching as he lay still within her.

“Ah huh,” she squeaked.

“Ready?” he crooned as he smoothed a tendril of hair from her face.

**“** Yes,” she breathed.

Her heart fluttered in her chest as he slowly began to move inside her. He was slow at first, knowing they had days to be together, but as her moans grew louder his thrusts became more rapid, each time hitting that pleasure spot within her like only he knew how. His mouth was hot against hers as he moaned, shuddering as she dug her claws into him.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” 

“I want to be on top.”

He rolled so he was beneath her, and she began to ride him. His eyes grew wide and his mouth gaped open as she clenched down on him, his entire body lifting off the bed as he went rigid.

“Fuck I love that obstacle course,” he wheezed. 

She giggled. “I’m in tip top shape inside and out,” she concurred.

“You are going to be the death of me.”

She nodded. “We go down together.” 

She placed her hands on his chest for leverage. She was so close already, as weeks of built up tension quickly threatened to overtake her. While she wanted nothing more than to chase her impending orgasm, she needed to make this moment last. She slowed her hips down, teasingly lifting her body off of him before slamming back down. 

“Jesus, Rey”, Ben moaned weakly as he gripped her sides. She continued her agonizingly slow pace as she bent over to whisper in his ear, her hardened nipples scraping lightly against his chest. 

“You like that, don’t you”, she whispered breathily, her hand winding through his hair. He was unable to do anything other than make unintelligible sounds in response. Unable to contain the frenzy building inside her any longer, she began to speed up her movements, her body involuntarily tensing. The rhythmic slap of their bodies filled the room, in harmony with their stutters and moans.

The rising pressure finally exploded within her, and she screamed as she clenched around him, wave after wave of pleasure rocking her. Her head flung back as she ground against him, squeezing every last drop of pleasure. As she collapsed on his chest he continued to thrust up into her. Moments later he too completely lost control, pulsing hot and erratic within her. He lay inside her for several minutes as they rode through their aftershocks together. 

She was immobile, boneless. How was she going to survive ten more days of this? She would find a way. She was a Recovery Specialist now, nothing could get in between her and her target. 

Groggily she slid back down onto the bed, then snuggled into his arms, safe, secure and completely content with her life. She had everything she needed, wanted and more. There was just one last thing to cover.

“Ben?” 

“Yes, sweetheart?” he murmured into her hair.

“There aren’t any more surprises for me, are there?”

He paused for several heartbeats before replying.

“Have I ever told you about my dad?”

**__________**

What is in store for our dynamic duo in Part III of the series?

Ben and Rey find it impossible to stop mixing business with pleasure on their first mission on the glamourous French Riviera. When Leia sets Ben a task that challenges his heart and his mind, our lovebirds find themselves in far more trouble than either of them bargained for.

(thank you Ferasha for my beautiful mood board!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I will be writing a final instalment to this trilogy where I’m taking the crew to the French Riviera! It's gonna be True Lies x Dirty Rotten Scoundrels x Mission Impossible with a special appearance from someone from Ben’s past. Hmmmm I wonder who? Be sure to either subscribe to the series or subscribe to this fic and I will post an update here when I start posting “Take Me With You.”
> 
> If you enjoyed this silly story please let me know! Thank you all for your lovely comments and kudos, and for sharing with me that you loved this story. It means so much in crappy times like this.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudo and comments are my motivation!


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